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was a Japanese artist best known for his prints in the ukiyo-e style. Hokkei was one of

Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the ...

's first and best-known students and worked in a variety of styles and genres and produced a large body of work in prints, book illustrations, and paintings. His work also appeared under the art names Aoigazono (), Aoigaoka () and Kyōsai ().

Life and career

Born Iwakubo Tatsuyuki () in 1780 in

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

(modern Tokyo), Hokkei was at first a fishmonger before studying with , the head of the Kobikichō branch of the Kanō school of painting. Later he became one of ukiyo-e artist

's first students. Hokkei's earliest known work appeared about 1800 as illustrations for books of ' comic waka poetry, licentious ' novels, and ' storybooks. During his peak period in the 1820s and 1830s he produced a large number of prints and book illustration. Hokkei died in 1850 at age 70. He is buried in Ryūhōji temple in Aoyama. Throughout his life he also used the given names Hatsugorō (), and Kin'emon (), and the art names Aoigazono (), Aoigaoka () and Kyōsai (). Amongst Hokkei's students are known the names

Yashima Gakutei Yashima Gakutei ( ja, 八島岳亭; 1868) was a Japanese artist and poet who was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai. Gakutei is best known for his kyōka poetry and surimono works. Biography Gakutei was born in Osaka around 1786, thou ...

, Nishimoto Keisetsu (), Keiri (), Keiyu (), Keigetsu (), Keishō (), Keisei (), and Keirin ().

Style

Hokkei's work is light and simple, and shows the influence of his master Hokusai: the ''Famous Places from Various Provinces'' series appeared shortly after Hokusai's popular '' Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji''. Hokkei was an individualistic and versatile artist who made use of a variety of approaches and worked in styles varying from those remiscent of early ukiyo-e artist Hishikawa Moronobu to Western-tinged methods and subjects. In the 1820s and 1830s Hokkei was a prolific illustrator of '' surimono'' prints, of which he made at least eight hundred; and of books, of which he illustrated about a hundred, including erotica and a book of sketches called ''Hokkei Manga'' (') in the manner of the ''

Hokusai Manga The is a collection of sketches of various subjects by the Japanese artist Hokusai. Subjects of the sketches include landscapes, flora and fauna, everyday life and the supernatural. The word ''manga'' in the title does not refer to the contemp ...

''. A representative work is Hokkei's illustrations for the ' comic novel by

Ishikawa Masamochi was a Japanese ''kokugaku'' scholar, ''kyōka'' poet and writer of ''yomihon'' of the late Edo period. Biography Ishikawa Masamochi was born Nukaya Shichihē. According to the autobiographical ''Rokujuen Jihitsu Kirekiroku'' (六樹園自筆� ...

''Hokuri Jūniji'' ("The Twelve Hours of the Northern Village", referring to the pleasure district of Yoshiwara). He produced few print series, one of which is the of fifteen prints in 1835–36. He also produced full-colour '' nishiki-e'' prints in a wide variety of genres, such as ''

musha-e Musha-e () is a type a Japanese art that was developed in the late 18th century. It is a genre of the ukiyo-e woodblock printing technique, and represents images of warriors and samurai from Japanese history and mythology. History Edo Period ...

'' warrior prints and '' bijin-ga'' portraits of beauties, and made

nikuhitsuga ''Nikuhitsu-ga'' (肉筆画) is a form of Japanese painting in the ''ukiyo-e'' art style. The woodblock prints of this genre have become so famous in the West as to become almost synonymous with the term "ukiyo-e", but most ''ukiyo-e'' artists w ...

paintings. 'Kintaro Referees a Match between Rooster and Tengu' by Totoya Hokkei, Honolulu Museum of Art, 6342.JPG, ''Kintarō Referees a Match between Rooster and Tengu'', early 19th century Kop van een zalm-Rijksmuseum RP-P-1958-328.jpeg, ''Head of a Salmon'', Brooklyn Museum - Autumn Maples at the Takinogawa River - Totoya Hokkei.jpg, ''Autumn Maples at the Takinogawa River'', Courtisane rijdend op een shishi-Rijksmuseum RP-P-2007-719.jpeg, ''Courtesan Riding a Lion'', Totoya Hokkei () Hokkei Manga 03.jpg, Totoya Hokkei () Hokkei Manga 05.jpg, Totoya Hokkei () Hokkei Manga 08.jpg,

References

Works cited

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External links

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Hokkei prints
at ukiyo-e.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hokkei 1780 births 1850 deaths Ukiyo-e artists