One of a set of hanging scrolls depicting the gosekku (Imperial Court rites), by Koson, c. 1830. Freer Gallery of Art.
Ikeda Koson was a Rinpa painter of the late Edo period, who studied under Sakai Hôitsu.
Koson was born in Echigo province, but moved to Edo when he was still young and became a student of Sakai Hôitsu. He developed a personal style which expanded beyond Rinpa, and was quite varied. He was known as something of an eccentric and a recluse, and engaged avidly in tea ceremony and poetry.
Having studied Hôitsu's Kôrin hyakuzu (1864), the following year he produced, in honor of his teacher, a volume entitled Hôitsu shônin shinseki kagami.
Some of his works are quite standard Rinpa, but others are seen as being innovative, and predecessors to the Nihonga of the Meiji period.
References
- Gallery label, Freer & Sackler Galleries, Ikeda Koson, "Gosekku: The Five Ancient Festivals of the Imperial Court," F1999.5.1a-f.
- "Ikeda Koson," Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten 朝日日本歴史人物事典, Asahi Shimbun.
- Gallery label, Metropolitan Museum, "Chinese Literary Gathering."[1]