Woodblock diptych by Hirosada II of kabuki actors Jitsukawa Enzaburô I (left) and Mimasu Daigorô IV (right), 1853
Hirosada II, also known as Sadahiro II, was a designer of ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock prints in Osaka. He was a student of Konishi Hirosada, and assumed the name “Hirosada” in 1853, when his teacher ceased designing prints. In the summer of 1864, Hirosada I died and his student changed his name, for a second time, from “Hirosada” (廣貞) to “Sadahiro” (貞廣).
Signature
Signatures of Hirosada I (left) and Hirosada II (right), both reading “Hirosada” (廣貞)
Whereas the signature of Hirosada I is compact, Hirosada II signed his name in a large bold hand.
References
Keyes, Roger S., and Susumu Matsudaira, Hirosada, Ōsaka Printmaker, Long Beach, CA, University Art Museum, California State University, Long Beach, 1984, 16–17, 129–130.
Lane, Richard. (1978). Images from the Floating World, The Japanese Print. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192114471; OCLC 5246796
