Biographical Data
Biography
Suzuki Toshimoto 鈴木年基 [also 鈴樹年基] (active 1877–1890s)Sources: Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject2.cfm?ObjectNumber=S1999.62 and Courage and Silence: A Study of the Life and Color Woodblock Prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: 1839-1892, Roger Keyes, 1982, p. 551; Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%88%B4%E6%9C%A8%E5%B9%B4%E5%9F%BA
Suzuki Toshimoto lived in Osaka and, according to the Japanese Wikipedia entry (cited above) was likely born about 1854 with the family name Suzuki Rainosuke 鈴木雷之助. He was a disciple of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). He was a print designer and Western-style (yōga) painter who painted landscapes of the Osaka/Kyoto region which display the influence of the Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915), and also a writer/editor and publisher, publishing under his birth name Suzuki Rainosuke. Marks in Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium lists the publisher Suzuki Rainosuke and notes "Maybe identical with the artist Suzuki Toshimoto 鈴木年基."1 He also had a close association with the publishers Wataya Kihei 綿屋喜兵衛 and Maeda Kijirō (前田喜次郎).
His signature is most often seen on prints of the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, including biographical prints of some of the figures involved. He also created prints for the newspaper Shinbun zue 新聞図会 under the name Suzuki Sessai.2 Other gō used by the artist include Raisai Toshimoto using the characters 雷斉 and
蕾斎.
Signatures and Seals Attributed to Artist
 Suzuki Toshimoto ga |  雷斉年基 画 Raisai Toshimoto ga |  應需 鈴樹年基 ōju Suzuki Toshimoto with unread seal |  left column: 雷斉年基 画 / 年基 right column: runread Raisai Toshimoto ga with seal reading Toshimoto |  雷斉年基 画/ 年基Raisai Toshimoto ga with seal reading Toshimoto |
 應需 雷斉年基 画 ōju Raisai Toshimoto ga with unread seal |  雷斉年基 画 Raisai Toshimoto ga |  雷斉年基 / 年基 Raisai Toshimoto with seal reading Toshimoto |
1 Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Compendium, Andreas Marks, Hotei Publishing, 2011, p. 299.
2 Website of William Wetherall http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/nn/almanac/Almanac_news_nishikie.htmllast revision:
1/6/2019
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