Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Thirty-Two Physiognomic Types in the Modern World: The Popular Type. Tosei sanjuni so: Hayari so. Signed Gototei Kunisada ga with artist’s Matsukawabishi with Toshidama seal, censor’s seal Kiwame (approved), and publisher’s seal Ju (Nishinomiya Shinroku of Gangetsudo and Shunshoken), ca. Oban tate-e 14 7/8 by 10 in. 37.8 by 25.4 cm. The series title, Thirty-Two Physiognomic Types in the Modern World (Tosei sanjuni so), references the Buddhist belief that thirty-two physical traits distinguished the Buddha as an enlightened being. A similar concept was embraced in the practice of physiognomy (sogaku or soho), the study of divining a person’s fortune or character based on facial features and/or palm reading. This series by Kunisada follows a similar format, while the title indicates thirty-two types, a total of ten prints were produced, presenting half-length portraits of a variety of women of different ages, classes, and professions, all against a pink background. Each type is identified in the cartouche in the shape of a magnifying glass as were used by professional physiognomists (somi), in addition to this Popular Type (who may be a popular geisha), Kunisada presented: The Capable Type, The Competitive Type, The Clever Type, The Theater-Loving Type, The In-Demand Type, The Playful Type, The Daughter of a High-Ranking Family, The Type That Attracts Clients from Edo, and the Conclusive Type. References: Shugo Asano and Timothy Clark, The Passionate Art of Kitagawa Utamaro, 1995, text vol. 56-64 (Utamaro’s’Ten Types’ series) Kunisada Exhibition, The Seikado Book Library, 1996, pp. 59-64 (six prints from the same series) Utagawa Kunisada: 150th Anniversary of His Death, Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 2014, p. 96 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (collections. Mfa. Org), accession no.
