From wikipedia: "Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese: 歌川国芳) (1797-1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting and belonged to the Utagawa school."

Kuniyoshi is well-covered online (see here and here), but I have the feeling these bizarre images have not circulated as much as his prints of warriors and cats. Be sure to view my complete flickr set and blow-up the images (many are cropped to highlight Kuniyoshi's strange side).