Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Kuniyoshi grew up in old Tokyo when the city was still called Edo. His dad ran a silk shop, but Kuniyoshi loved anything with pictures, scrolls, screens, comic books. He talked his way into the Utagawa school, a kind of artist factory where students copied the master’s style until they found their own.

By his 30s he was the go-to guy for warrior prints, but then Japan closed its doors to the world and the fun jobs dried up.

So he got weird. While other artists drew pretty ladies and famous actors, Kuniyoshi filled his prints with cats in kimonos, skeletons doing magic tricks, and one-eyed cats riding octopuses. He also hid political jokes in the background, tiny rebels sneaking past censors in the folds of a robe.

Look for his signature: a big, bold “Kuniyoshi” written sideways in the corner. His colors pop like candy, and the people always feel like they’re about to move off the paper.