Keisai Eisen
Education Biography: Eisen was an alcoholic introvert for much of his life. His fame rests on the survival of a handful of bijin studies (a few quite exceptional), some erotica, and a number of landscapes, some done with a nervous, agitated line that is all his own. He was also the author of the Zoku Ukiyo-e Ruikô, a re-editing of the main source books on the history of ukiyo-e. For this reason, there survives more biographical information on this artist than would normally be accorded him.
He was born in 1790 at Hoshi-ga-oka in Edo. His father was a calligrapher, poet, and tea master. His childhood, therefore, was one of cultural stimulation. At an early age, he studied under Kanô Hakkeisai from whom he developed a keen interest in the graphic arts and a life-long love of Chinese painting of the Sung and Ming dynasties.
Tragedy struck young Eisen in 1800 when he lost his parents and was forced to care for his three younger sisters. This was followed by a scandal involving slander. To survive, it is said that he began to design ukiyo-e prints.
In the early years, Eisen used the art names Kakushunrô and Hokutei. Some scholars suggest that he was the same artist who signed his name Shosen on art dated 1810. Richard Lane does not include this alternate name in his dictionary, suggesting that the attribution is not widely accepted.
It wasn’t until 1813 that Eisen went to live and study with Kikukawa Eizan, an artist whose work was influenced by Utamaro and Hokusai. He developed his own style at this time and assumed the name Eisen by 1816. He came to specialize in the depiction of voluptuous girls and erotic sheets by which he is best known in Japan. His series, Ukiyo-e shijuhatte of the late 1810s, is typical of his style in this genre. This style changed very little in the years to follow, as his prints from the series Tôsi kobustsu-hakkei of the 1830s demonstrates.
Among Eisen’s apparent achievements is the pioneering of the aizuri-e print (monochromatic blue). According to one source, Eisen developed this technique in 1829 for use in decorating fans. Hokusai is known to have used aizuri-e for the earliest prints in his famous Fuji series of the early 1830s. The technique was to come into its own for a short time in 1842, during the prohibition of the full-color print by the Tokugawa government.
In the mid 1830s, he began work on the Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kosokaidô, but was soon replaced by Hiroshige. His landscapes are often done in the style of Hiroshige, but sometimes follow Hokusai, introducing an agitated nervous line that even outdoes Hokusai in its eccentricity.
His deathbed poem read, “As I ascend to the brilliant, many hued clouds of paradise, there is not a single shadow on my heart.”
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Despite the fact that Eisen tended to be an alcoholic introvert in his private life, there survives considerable information about him. This is due, in part, to the fact that one of the "Ukiyo-e Ruiko" transcriptions was written by Eisen himself. We learn from this source that he was born in 1790 at Hoshi-ga-oka in Edo; his father was a calligrapher, poet, and tea master, and his childhood was one of cultural stimulation. At an early age he studied under Kanö Hakkusai from whom he developed a keen interest in the graphic arts. In 1800 he lost his parents and was forced to care for his three younger sisters. After a scandal involving slander, he became an ukiyo-e artist in order to survive.
In the early years Eisen used the art names "Kukushunö" and "Hakutei", according to his own account. Stylistic comparisons also suggest that he must have been the same artist who, in 1810, signed his name Shosen. It wasn't until 1813 that he went to live with the ukiyo-e artist, Eiji. It was from Eiji and his real son, Eizan (who worked in the style of Utamaro) that he gained his special style and the name by which we know him best -- Eisen. He first began to use the name Eisen in 1816, and by 1821 he had developed his unique style of drawing beautiful women.
Among Eisen's achievements is the pioneering of the "azuri-e" technique, which produces a blue monochromatic print. According to one source, Eisen developed this technique in 1829 for use on fans. In any event, the technique was most popular around 1842, during the prohibition of the full-color print by the Tokagawa government.
He is most famous for his Hiroshige-inspired landscapes, some of which are exhibited often. His deathbed poem reads, "As I ascend to the brilliant, many hued clouds of Paradise, there is not a single shadow on my heart."
Research by: Howard A. Link.
