Santo Kyoden

• Born: 1761
• Died: 1816
• Other Names: 北尾政演　(Kitao Masanobu)
• Japanese: 山東京伝 (Santou Kyouden)

Santô Kyôden was an Edo period poet, writer, and ukiyo-e artist known primarily for his work on kibyôshi novels which he both wrote and illustrated himself.

Kyôden began studying under ukiyo-e artist Kitao Shigemasa from his early teens, and produced his first illustrated novels, and single-sheet prints, shortly afterward.

After graduating from Shigemasa's tutelage, Kyôden began working with the publisher Tsutaya Jûzaburô, who persuaded him to move away from prints and to devote himself more fully to book illustration. Though he often was both the author and illustrator of a given book, he often signed the illustrations as Kitao Masanobu, the author cited as Santô Kyôden.

References

• Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1978. pp128-129.