Eishi (1756 - 1829 )
Eishi Hosoda was born into the Hosoda samurai family as Tokitomi Fujiwara-no-Jibukyo in 1756. Living in Edo, Eishi began his career in Japanese painting, studying first in the Kano school, then under Bunryusai. Employing the Kano style, Eishi became a court painter and high court official to the Shogun Ieharu Tokugawa. In fact, it was the shogun who bestowed the name Eishi on the artist. Around the age of thirty, Eishi left the court and began working as a Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print artist. Initially influenced by the Torii school, he soon found inspiration in Utamaro’s spellbinding beauties and began producing bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). In 1800, he left printmaking and returned to painting.
Defined by aristocratic elegance, Eishi Hosoda’s women appear tall, lean and graceful. It is said that his prints were so highly regarded in their time that even the imperial family sought to own them. His paintings are considered masterpieces of the art form.
Ukiyo-e | Japanese Woodblock Prints | Ronin Gallery
Explore the largest collection of 17th-19th century original Japanese woodblock prints in the United States at Ronin Gallery. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” captured the exciting urban popular culture of the Edo period (1603-1868), promoting its beauty, fashions and heroes. While the Buddhist term ukiyo originally emphasized the transitory nature of human life, during the 17th century the term gradually shifted its reference to the ephemeral world of pleasure and indulgence. From 17th century Buddhist woodcuts through 19th century Japanese ukiyo-e print masters, enter a vibrant world of enchanting landscapes and sublime nature studies by Hokusai and Hiroshige, dramatic kabuki actors by Sharaku and Toyokuni, fierce samurai by Kuniyoshi, and elegant beauties by Utamaro. With the ravages of time, war and fire, today few of these precious original Japanese woodblock prints survive outside of museums and important private collections.
8 Products
Eishi
Momiji no Ga from Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise
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Eishi
Parody of the Tsutsu Izutsu Story from the Tales of Ise
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Eishi
Bijin in a Summer Kimono Holding a Goldfish Bowl
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