Insider information: &quot;The Utamaro persona&quot; and self-promotional strategies in ukiyo-e woodblock prints

This BA thesis focuses on marketing strategies employed by designer and publisher to promote themselves as insiders of the popular Yoshiwara entertainment quarters and its brothels in Edo. According to research by Julie Nelson Davis , designer Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) and publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô (1750-1797) deliberately tried to create an “Utamaro persona” that would make Utamaro look like the ultimate insider of the abovementioned district in order to make more sales. I will elaborate on Davis’ thesis and analyze the main strategies that promoted Utamaro. Then works of other artists will be analyzed to see whether similar promotion can be found in their work as well. Davis indicates this possibility in her research as well, yet she focuses mainly on Utamaro and leaves other important artists by the wayside. In short, my main research focus will be the main self-promotional strategies of the Utamaro persona and whether these were unique in the commercial world of ukiyo-e...Show moreThis BA thesis focuses on marketing strategies employed by designer and publisher to promote themselves as insiders of the popular Yoshiwara entertainment quarters and its brothels in Edo. According to research by Julie Nelson Davis , designer Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) and publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô (1750-1797) deliberately tried to create an “Utamaro persona” that would make Utamaro look like the ultimate insider of the abovementioned district in order to make more sales. I will elaborate on Davis’ thesis and analyze the main strategies that promoted Utamaro. Then works of other artists will be analyzed to see whether similar promotion can be found in their work as well. Davis indicates this possibility in her research as well, yet she focuses mainly on Utamaro and leaves other important artists by the wayside. In short, my main research focus will be the main self-promotional strategies of the Utamaro persona and whether these were unique in the commercial world of ukiyo-e publishing or whether they were tricks of the trade?Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Insider information: "The Utamaro persona" and self-promotional strategies in ukiyo-e woodblock prints