Kikugawa Eizan (1787–1867) was a Japanese ukiyo-e painter and printmaker from Edo who specialised in bijin-ga, images of beautiful women. After closely following Kitagawa Utamaro, he developed his own manner around 1814–1817, with the delicate “doll’s face” for which he is best known, and taught Keisai Eisen. His prints preserve the lyricism of the Utamaro tradition, and he is often regarded as the last exponent of classical bijin-ga.
Kikugawa Eizan (1787–1867), also spelled Kikukawa Eizan, was a Japanese ukiyo-e painter and printmaker from Edo. He was the son of Eiji, a minor painter of the Kanō school, and studied with Suzuki Nanrei of the Shijō school and probably also with the ukiyo-e artist Totoya Hokkei. Eizan specialised in bijin-ga, images of beautiful women, and in his early work closely followed the style of Kitagawa Utamaro. He gradually developed a manner of his own: between about 1814 and 1817 his figures took on the delicate “doll’s face” for which he is best known. His prints preserve the lyricism of the Utamaro tradition rather than the earthier approach of some contemporaries, and he is often regarded as the last representative of the classical style in bijin-ga. Keisai Eisen, who later became a leading bijin-ga designer in his own right, studied under him. Eizan was a prolific printmaker, but in later years he gave up designing woodblock prints and devoted himself to painting. His works are held in major collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago. The woodblock print “Hanaōgi of the Tsuruya, Shin-Yoshiwara” (1810–1820), offered by TUMO Gallery, depicts one of the famous courtesans of Edo’s Yoshiwara pleasure quarter.
