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Kaigetsudô prints generally represented the same subjects, though considerably less colorfully, constrained as they were by the techniques and technology of the time. These works were nevertheless lavish in that they used the technique of ''[[urushi-e]]'' ([[lacquer]] pictures) pioneered by [[Okumura Masanobu]] (1686-1764). This style was distinguished by the use of thicker, bolder lines than had typically been used, the application of flecks of brass, bronze, or mica, and the addition of a glue to the inks to help simulate the shine of lacquer.
Kaigetsudô prints generally represented the same subjects, though considerably less colorfully, constrained as they were by the techniques and technology of the time. These works were nevertheless lavish in that they used the technique of ''[[urushi-e]]'' ([[lacquer]] pictures) pioneered by [[Okumura Masanobu]] (1686-1764). This style was distinguished by the use of thicker, bolder lines than had typically been used, the application of flecks of brass, bronze, or mica, and the addition of a glue to the inks to help simulate the shine of lacquer.
Miyagawa Chôshun (1683-1753) was among those who drew significant influence from the Kaigetsudô style. Indeed many of his works are ''bijinga'' with lavishly ornate and colorful kimono, and a sense of the statuesque. Like several of the Kaigetsudô artists, and unlike the majority of ''ukiyo-e'' artists, Chôshun only ever painted, and never produced designs for woodblock prints.
Over the course of the first half of the 18th century, ''ukiyo-e'' artists, primarily those of the Torii school, experimented with methods of adding fuller color to their prints. ''Benizuri-e'', or "rose prints", of this period, sometimes featured as many as five different colors - rose, yellow, sienna brown, gray, mustard yellow, and black - but are still marked by a distinctly different appearance and creative technique than the full-color prints which would emerge in 1765.
Over the course of the first half of the 18th century, ''ukiyo-e'' artists, primarily those of the Torii school, experimented with methods of adding fuller color to their prints. ''Benizuri-e'', or "rose prints", of this period, sometimes featured as many as five different colors - rose, yellow, sienna brown, gray, mustard yellow, and black - but are still marked by a distinctly different appearance and creative technique than the full-color prints which would emerge in 1765.
==Full color==
==Full color==
<!--Nishiki-e and Harunobu-->
<!--Nishiki-e and Harunobu-->
True full-color printing was the result of an innovation by [[Suzuki Harunobu]] (c. 1725-1770), who developed the technique, which is called ''[[nishiki-e]]'' (brocade pictures), only five years before his premature death in 1770. Like many artists of the time, Harunobu was involved in a number of [[poetry circles]], casual social gatherings of artists, actors, writers, connoisseurs and others who would compose poetry together, paint for one another, and generally share their love of art. The first ''nishiki-e'' were created as a series of [[e-goyomi|calendar prints]] for Harunobu's circle. Not displaying a full calendar as one might expect to see today, these were single-sheet prints which incorporated into their imagery the information necessary to know the length of the months for that year. Since the Japanese calendar was lunisolar, which months of the year were long and which short changed each year.
As these were produced for an elite audience and a small distribution solely within Harunobu's circles, they were originally produced using only the finest paper, pigments, and techniques. No expense was spared, and Harunobu set the precedent with his 1765 calendar prints for thicker paper, thicker application of pigments for a more opaque final color result, the shift from catalpa wood to cherry, and perhaps most importantly, the innovative techniques which allowed a full range of colors to be used. A number of blocks would be created for each image, one block carved to only represent that portion of the image which took a single color. With the right equipment, the imprint of each block could be registered perfectly, to line up as many separate blocks, and therefore as many different colors, as desired.
In the five years between the release of these first ''nishiki-e'' and his death, Harunobu produced hundreds of works, his unique style showing a marked departure from those of earlier artists. He remains today one of the most famous of all ''ukiyo-e'' artists not solely for his innovation, but for his charming and elegant style. In addition to the multitude of innovative elements which ''nishiki-e'' techniques allowed, his works are chiefly distinguished by the thin and slight build and young faces of his figures. While most earlier ''bijinga'' focused on the allure and sensuality of experienced courtesans, ostensibly full-grown women, Harunobu's ''bijinga'' really appealed to the delicate beauty of girlhood. The places and situations represented in his prints also displayed a more everyday, more real, world than many of the prints which came before. Two of his most famous prints, one of a young lady walking past a Shinto shrine, one of the girl [[Kasamori Osen]] serving tea at a small outdoor shop, serve as good examples of this real-world aesthetic. He very rarely, if ever, produced actor prints.
Harunobu was followed by a number of disciples and others influenced by his work. Suzuki Harushige, who would later become a master of ''[[ranga]]'' (Western-style painting) under the name [[Shiba Kokan|Shiba Kôkan]] (1747-1818), forged Harunobu's style for several years after the master's death. [[Ippitsusai Buncho|Ippitsusai Bunchô]] (fl. c. 1765-1792) and [[Isoda Koryusai|Isoda Kôryûsai]] (fl. c. 1760s-1780s) were among other notable followers of Harunobu at this time.
<!--Miyagawa Choshun and Katsukawa school-->
<!--Miyagawa Choshun and Katsukawa school-->
Another major innovator, roughly contemporary with Harunobu, was [[Katsukawa Shunsho|Katsukawa Shunshô]] (1726-1793) the student of [[Miyagawa Shunsui]] (fl. c. 1740s-1760s), son of Miyagawa Chôshun mentioned earlier, and founder of the [[Katsukawa school]].
The Katsukawa school produced both painting and prints, depicting the full range of ''ukiyo-e'' subjects, from sumo wrestlers to beauties (''bijin''). However, it is most known for its actor prints. Rejecting the dominant Torii style, which identified actors only by their [[mon|crests]] or not at all, Shunshô contributed to the trend towards greater realism prevalent at the time and produced actor prints which actually reflected the facial features and other distinguishing characteristics of individual actors. He is said to have revitalized the sub-genre, injecting back into it the energy and drama of kabuki, which had gradually drained out of the formerly energetic Torii style over the preceding decades.
Shunshô's student [[Katsukawa Shunko|Shunkô]] (1743-1812) continued his master's tradition and style, and devoted himself more exclusively to actor prints, becoming one of the first to produce large-scale headshot portraits of individual actors. Whereas previous actor prints almost always depicted the full actor, head to toe, and thus represented the role and the costume just as much as the actor, these focused in upon the individual actors' idiosyncrasies and features, becoming true portraits. This form would be continued by many artists after him, including the great masters [[Sharaku]] and [[Kitagwa Utamaro|Utamaro]]. [[Katsukawa Shuncho|Katsukawa Shunchô]], [[Katsukawa Shun'ei|Shun'ei]] and [[Hokusai]] were among other students of the Katsukawa school.
<!--Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Sharaku, Utagawa school-->
<!--Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Sharaku, Utagawa school-->
==Decline==
==Decline==
<!--Meiji & Kiyochika-->
<!--Meiji & Kiyochika-->
==See also==
*[[Otsu-e|Ôtsu-e]]
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==Reference==
==Reference==
*[[Richard Lane|Lane, Richard]]. ''Images from the Floating World''. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 1978.
*[[Richard Lane|Lane, Richard]]. ''Images from the Floating World''. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 1978.
[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Culture]]