The prints of Isoda Koryūsai : floating world culture and its consumers in eighteenth-century Japan / Allen Hockley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hockley, Allen.

Contributor:

Isoda, Koryūsai, active 1764-1788

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Isoda, Koryūsai, active 1764-1788.

Isoda, Koryūsai.

Ukiyoe--Collectors and collecting--Japan--History--18th century.

Ukiyoe.

Ukiyoe--Collectors and collecting.

History.

Japan.

Physical Description:

313 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2003]

Summary:

The ukiyo-e artist Isoda Koryusai produced thousands of designs between 1769 and 1781, a crucial period in the evolution of the print tradition, and was honored with the imperial title of hokkyo, yet he has been long neglected by scholars. Allen Hockley has identified more than 2,500 designs of wide-ranging formats and themes, demonstrating that Koryusai broadened the treatment of traditional print subjects and appealed to a wider and more varied audience. Koryusai's sheer output suggests he may very well be the most productive artist of the eighteenth century. Refuting outmoded paradigms of connoisseurship and challenging the assumptions of conventional print scholarship, Allen Hockley elevates this important figure from the status of a minor Edo-period artist. He argues that Koryusai excelled by the most significant measure -- he was a highly successful creator of popular commodities. Employing an "active audience" model, Hockley reshapes the study of ukiyo-e as a scholarly discipline by assessing Koryusai's significance from the perspective of consumer culture. While scholars will be intrigued by Hockley's groundbreaking arguments, general readers will be fascinated by Koryusai's richly varied career. Five appendixes catalog all of the artist's known print designs, forming a record of Koryusai's works that will serve as a lasting reference text for collectors, dealers, and curators.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Rationale and Approach 3

Chapter 2 Early Ukiyo-e Histories and the Marginalization of Koryusai 11

Chapter 3 Koryusai's Prints in Series 41

Chapter 4 Courtesan Prints and the Hinagata Series 87

Chapter 5 A Survey of Koryusai's Career 133

Appendix 1 Prints in Series 189

Appendix 2 Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo 225

Appendix 3 Hashira-e 238

Appendix 4 Ichimai-e 267

Appendix 5 Shunga 284.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-309) and index.

ISBN:

0295983019

OCLC:

50644027