About the artist
Kogyo Tsukioka was born in Tokyo in 1869 as Sadanosuke Hanyu. The adopted son of the famous ukiyo-e artist Yoshitoshi, Kogyo studied both painting and woodblock printing under him. He later studied with Gekko. Kogyo did a number of nature studies and Sino-Japanese war prints but is primarily known for his images of the Noh theater, a traditional aristocratic form of Japanese performing arts that is considered more refined than the popular Kabuki theater. Unlike most ukiyo-e prints, his works have an almost painterly quality and use gold and silver for the Noh costume embellishments. Kogyo Tsukioka's woodblock prints required very skilled engravers and printers to produce. Kogyo died in Tokyo at the age of 58.