|
Eishōsai Chōki
Eishōsai Chōki (), also known as Momokawa Chōki, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints who was active from about 1786 to 1808. He, along with Utamaro, was a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712–1788). Chōki is best known for his pictures of beautiful slender women (''bijin-ga''), often with atmospheric backgrounds. The artist signed most of his works Chōki (), he also signed some work Eishōsai () or Shikō (). Life and career The details of Chōki's life are obscure. He was likely a student—and possibly an adopted son—of Toriyama Sekien. Chōki specialized in depicting beautiful women and had a number of art names: works signed Chōki were in the style similar to that of Kiyonaga, and those signed Shikō that of Utamaro. Chōki lived in the home of publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō Tsutaya Jūzaburō (; 13 February 1750 – 31 May 1797) was the founder and head of the Tsutaya publishing house in Edo, Japan, and produced illustra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukiyo-e
is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; Flora of Japan, flora and Wildlife of Japan#Fauna, fauna; and Shunga, erotica. In 1603, the city of Edo (Tokyo), Edo (Tokyo) became the seat of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate. The class (merchants, craftsmen and workers), positioned at the bottom of Four occupations, the social order, benefited the most from the city's rapid economic growth. They began to indulge in and patronize the entertainment of kabuki theatre, geisha, and oiran, courtesans of the Yūkaku, pleasure districts. The term ('floating world') came to describe this hedonistic lifestyle. Printed or painted ukiyo-e works were popular with the class, who had become wealthy enough to afford to decorate their homes wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodblock Printing In Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan (, ''mokuhanga'') is a technique best known for its use in the ''ukiyo-e'' artistic genre of single sheets, but it was also used for printing books in the same period. Invented in China during the Tang dynasty, woodblock printing was widely adopted in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868). It is similar to woodcut in Western printmaking in some regards, but was widely used for text as well as images. The Japanese mokuhanga technique differs in that it uses water-based inks—as opposed to Western woodcut, which typically uses oil-based inks. The Japanese water-based inks provide a wide range of vivid colors, glazes, and transparency. History Early, to 13th century Woodblock printing was invented in China under the Tang dynasty, and eventually migrated to Japan in the late 700s, where it was first used to reproduce foreign literature. In 764 the Empress Kōken commissioned one million small wooden pagodas, each containing a small woodblock scroll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utamaro
was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''Bijin-ga, bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. In 1804 he was arrested and manacled for fifty days for making illegal prints depicting the 16th-century military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and died two years later. Utamaro's work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the European Impressionism, Impressionists, particularly with h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toriyama Sekien
200px, A , specifically a Miage-nyūdō, as portrayed by Toriyama , real name Sano Toyofusa, was a scholar, '' kyōka'' poet, and ''ukiyo-e'' artist of Japanese folklore. Early life Born to a family of high-ranking servants to the Tokugawa shogunate, Toriyama was trained by Kanō school artists Kanō Gyokuen and Kanō Chikanobu, although he was never officially recognized as a Kanō school painter. Art career After retiring from service to the shogunate, Toriyama became a teacher to numerous apprentices in poetry and painting. He was among the first to apply Kanō techniques to ''ukiyo-e'' printmaking, inventing key new techniques along the way, such as ''fuki-bokashi'', which allowed for replicating color gradations. Most famously, he was the teacher of Kitagawa Utamaro and Utagawa Toyoharu. Sekien is best known for his mass-produced illustrated books of yōkai that had appeared in '' Hyakki Yagyō'' monster parade scrolls. The first book proved popular enough to spawn thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bijin-ga
is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women () in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre. Definition defines as a picture that simply "emphasizes the beauty of women", and the ''Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art'' defines it as depiction of "the beauty of a woman's appearance". On the other hand, defines as pictures that explore "the inner beauty of women". For this reason, the essence of cannot always be expressed only through the depiction of a , a woman aligning with the beauty image. In fact, in ukiyo-e , it was not considered important that the picture resemble the facial features of the model, and the depiction of women in ukiyo-e is stylized rather than an attempt to create a realistic image; For example, throughout the Edo period (1603–1867), married women had a custom of shaving their eyebrows (), but in , there was a rule to draw the eyebrows for married women. History Ukiyo-e itself is a genre of woodblock prints and pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Adult Adoption
Japanese adult adoption is the practice in Japan of legally and socially accepting a nonconsanguineal adult into an offspring role of a family. The centuries-old practice was developed as a mechanism for families to extend their family name, estate and ancestry without an unwieldy reliance on blood lines. Still common today, adult adoption is a dynamic tool for social and economic mobility. There is evidence that this practice began as early as sometime in the 13th century within the sect of Buddhism known as Pure Land Buddhism, but only really became widely used in the Tokugawa shogunate (or Edo period), which began around 1600 and lasted until 1868.Gordon, Andrew (2020, 4th ed.). ''A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present.' During the Tokugawa period, much of the Samurai class would adopt sons for the purpose of creating a strong, fixed position in society through the assumption of positions such as the head of household and the head of the business. It also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii Kiyonaga
Torii Kiyonaga (; 1752 – June 28, 1815) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Torii school. Originally Sekiguchi Shinsuke, the son of an Edo bookseller, from Motozaimokuchō Itchōme in Edo, he took on Torii Kiyonaga as an art name. Although not biologically related to the Torii family, he became head of the group after the death of his adoptive father and teacher Torii Kiyomitsu. The master Kiyomitsu died in 1785; since his son died young, and Kiyotsune, Kiyonaga's senior, was a less promising artist, Kiyonaga was the obvious choice to succeed Kiyomitsu to leadership of the Torii school. However, he delayed this for two years, likely devoting time to his '' bijin-ga'' and realizing the immense responsibility that would fall on his shoulders once he took over the school. Thus, in 1787, he began organizing the production of kabuki signboards and the like, which the school held a near monopoly on. He also began to train Kiyomitsu's grandson, Torii Kiyomine, who was to suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsutaya Jūzaburō
Tsutaya Jūzaburō (; 13 February 1750 – 31 May 1797) was the founder and head of the Tsutaya publishing house in Edo, Japan, and produced illustrated books and ukiyo-e woodblock prints of many of the period's most famous artists. Tsutaya's is the best-remembered name of all ukiyo-e publishers. He is also known as Tsuta-Jū and Jūzaburō I. Tsutaya set up his shop in 1774 and began by publishing guides to the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. By 1776 he was publishing print series, and went on to publish some of the best-known artists of the late 1700s. He is best remembered for his association with Utamaro and as the sole publisher of Sharaku. "Tsutaya" is not a true surname, but a ''yagō'' "shop name" that translates as "Ivy Shop". The publisher used a seal of ivy leaves under a stylized Mount Fuji as a publisher's mark. Life and career Jūzaburō's father is believed to have been a member of the Maruyama clan and a worker in Yoshiwara, Edo's pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hashira-e
Hashira-e (柱絵) or Pillar prints are Japanese woodblock prints usually measuring about 13cm x 73cm (4.5 in. by 28 in.). They were originally intended to be hung upon, or pasted onto, wooden pillars inside Japanese houses. They probably served as cheap alternatives to hanging scrolls (kakemono) which were typically made of silk. Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764) is credited with popularizing this format of print. They were popular during the second half of the eighteenth century. Surviving examples are rare, and often faded, worn, or stained from exposure to soot and smoke. Ukiyo-e artist Koryūsai (1735–1790) designed many hashira-e depicting a wide variety of subjects, particularly gods and beautiful women (bijin-ga). The popularity of hashira format prints began to wane around 1800 and they were superseded by vertical diptychs of the larger ''Oban tate-e'' format – ''tate,'' meaning 'portrait', ''e'' meaning 'picture') the most frequent size for Japanese woodblock prints ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
