Iwasa Matabei

• Born: 1578
• Died: 1650
• Japanese: 岩佐又兵衛 (Iwasa Matabei)

Iwasa Matabei was among the pioneers of ukiyo-e ("Pictures of the Floating World") painting. Originally a student of the Tosa school, at some point in the early 17th century, he left the school to pursue a more popular (commoner) style of painting, producing genre paintings and other works often considered to be either among the earliest works of ukiyo-e, or significant forerunners to true ukiyo-e.

The eponymous character of Matahei in Chikamatsu Monzaemon's play Domo-mata is based on Matabei.

References

• Timon Screech, Obtaining Images, University of Hawaii Press (2012), 24.