Shiba Kōkan
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, born Andō Kichirō (安藤吉次郎) or Katsusaburō (勝三郎), was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, famous both for his Western-style ''
yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingui ...
'' paintings, in imitation of Dutch oil painting styles, methods, and themes, which he painted as Kōkan, and his
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 ...
prints, which he created under the name Harushige, but also producing forgeries of the works of
Suzuki Harunobu Suzuki Harunobu (; ) was a Japanese designer of woodblock print art in the style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints () in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints. Harunobu used many spe ...
. He is said to have boasted of his ability to forge the great master so well. He also was engaged in Western learning (
Rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: , ), and by extension , is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the countr ...
) in the field of astronomy.


Life

Kōkan started his artistic career at the age of 15 at the
Kanō school The is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji era, Meiji period which began in 1868, by which time the school had divided i ...
in Edo, but left the school six years later. He was influenced then by Suzuki Harunobu and
Sō Shiseki was a Japanese painter of the Nagasaki and Nanpin schools. Originally from Edo, he spent some time in Nagasaki, where he studied under the Chinese painter Song Ziyan, who was known as Sō Shigan in Japanese. The name Sō Shiseki is an art-name ...
. In 1773 he met
Hiraga Gennai was a Japanese polymath and ''rōnin'' of the Edo period. He was a pharmacologist, student of ''Rangaku'', author, painter and inventor well known for his '' Erekiteru'' (electrostatic generator), ''Kandankei'' (thermometer) and ''Kakanpu'' ...
. Kōkan mastered a number of very different styles, and was also a great innovator, exploring new methods and styles on his own. He became the first Japanese artist, in 1783, to use copperplate engraving, a print, called ''View on Mimeguri''.Conrad, (1989) pg. 380 Following Harunobu's death in 1770, Kōkan placed Harunobu's signature on a number of his own prints, which were supposedly accepted as true works of Harunobu at the time. Today, art historians have noted the distinctive calligraphic style of the faked Harunobu signature, the use of Western-style perspective, and the somewhat less delicate figures in works by "Harunobe" (Kōkan). Like many other Edo period artists, Kōkan used a great variety of other names at various points in his career, though "Shiba Kōkan", "Suzuki Harushige", and close variations on those appear far more often. Variations include Shiba Shun (司馬峻) and Suzuki Shun, while his other names include A Fugen-dōjin, Kungaku, Rantei, and as a writer Shumparō (春波楼). Kōkan lived in Edo, was a student of ''
rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: , ), and by extension , is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the countr ...
'' (Dutch studies) in addition to his pursuits as an artist, and interested in astronomy in particular. He wrote and illustrated a book on
Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
' theories, entitled ''Kopperu temmon zukai'' (刻白爾(コッペル)天文図解, Illustrated Explanation of Copernicus' Astronomy). He met Hendrik Caspar Romberg, the Dutch embassy visiting the Shōgun at Edo, but visited
Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
only once, in 1788. "Shiba Kokan's
world map A world map is a map of most or all of the surface of Earth. World maps, because of their scale, must deal with the problem of projection. Maps rendered in two dimensions by necessity distort the display of the three-dimensional surface of t ...
, published in 1792 in two hand-drawn sheets, shows in the surrounding diagrams the
Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
figures of earth, sun and moon, which his accompanying book explained with more diagrams.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
is present with an approximation of shape quite unknown to ;
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
again stretches eastward in deformity;
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
is at the far east of a sheet, but this is a modern map. The ever-original Shiba Kokan describes himself in the colophon as introducing copper engraving technologies to Japan. Later impressions added considerably to the surrounding decorations, with small scenes of
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
, of hills and harbours and plant dissection; they are also more fully colored, in homage to
Willem Blaeu Willem Janszoon Blaeu (; 157121 October 1638), also abbreviated to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer, atlas maker, and publisher. Along with his son Johannes Blaeu, Willem is considered one of the notable figures of the Netherlan ...
or popular taste. However, Shiba Kokan's spare, early issue still conveys a sense of innovation."Franklin, Colin. 1997. "A Western View of Japanese Mapmaking." Mercator's World. . Volume 2 (1), January/February 1997. Pages 31-32.


Gallery

File:Shiba Kôkan Shinagawa Mond.jpg, Moonfrom the series Snow, Moon and Flowers above Shinagawa, signed Harushige File:Shiba Kôkan Mädchen.jpg, Woman, with faked Harunobu signature File:Shiba Kôkan Zweige.jpg, Pair of scrolls in style of Sō Shiseki File:Shiba Kōkan - Mimegurinokei.jpg, View on Mimeguri; first, copper print by a Japanese, hand coloured File:Shiba Kôkan 7.jpg, Seven-miles beach with Enoshima and Fuji File:Shiba Kôkan Paar.jpg, Two oil paintingsAcc. Naruse, prints from the book '' Het menselyk bedryf'' by Jan and Caspar Luyken, Amsterdam 1694, were used as models
(Kōbe City Museum)


Remarks


Notes


References

*Naruse, F.: ''Shiba Kōkan''. Shueisha 1977 (in Japanese) *Roberts, L. ''Japanese Artists''. Weatehrhill 1976 * * * * * * *''


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiba, Kokan Shiba Kokan Shiba Kokan Shiba Kokan Ukiyo-e artists Yōga painters Japanese cartographers Artists from Tokyo 18th-century Japanese artists 19th-century Japanese painters People of the Edo period