Changes

Hokusai left the Katsukawa school in [[1793]], at the age of 33, expelled according to some accounts. This came shortly after the death of both his master Katsukawa Shunshô, and his own young wife, who left him with a son and two daughters, Omiyo and Otetsu.<ref name=davis>Kobayashi Tadashi and Julie Nelson Davis. "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi." in Carpenter, John et al (eds). ''Hokusai and his Age''. Hotei Publishing, 2005. pp93-103.</ref> Extremely little is known of their biographies, but Omiyo is known to have married book illustrator [[Yanagawa Shigenobu]], who Hokusai then later adopted as his own son.

Hokusai left the Katsukawa school in [[1793]], at the age of 33, expelled according to some accounts. This came shortly after the death of both his master Katsukawa Shunshô, and his own young wife, who left him with a son and two daughters, Omiyo and Otetsu.<ref name=davis>Kobayashi Tadashi and Julie Nelson Davis. "The Floating World in Light and Shadow: Ukiyo-e Paintings by Hokusai's Daughter Oi." in Carpenter, John et al (eds). ''Hokusai and his Age''. Hotei Publishing, 2005. pp93-103.</ref> Extremely little is known of their biographies, but Omiyo is known to have married book illustrator [[Yanagawa Shigenobu]], who Hokusai then later adopted as his own son.

Taking the name Sôri, Hokusai continued to produce works in his own personal style, in a variety of formats (single sheets, books, ''surimono'', etc.) and themes. It is said that his "strikingly individual style [of depictions of] frail, wistful female figure[s]"<ref>Lane. ''Images from the Floating World''. p162.</ref> emerged at this time, and would have cemented his legacy as a first-rate figure artist, had he not gone on to do so much more over the course of his nearly 90 years of life.

Taking the name Sôri, Hokusai continued to produce works in his own personal style, in a variety of formats (single sheets, books, ''surimono'', etc.) and themes. It is said that his "strikingly individual style [of depictions of] frail, wistful female figure[s]"<ref>Lane. ''Images from the Floating World''. p162.</ref> emerged at this time, and would have cemented his legacy as a first-rate figure artist, had he not gone on to do so much more over the course of his nearly 90 years of life. In the early decades of his career, from the 1780s into the 1800s, he produced book illustrations chiefly for ''[[kibyoshi|kibyôshi]]'', but early in the 1800s, he shifted away from ''kibyôshi'' to ''[[yomihon]]'' - larger books, with full-page illustrations interspersed with pages of text.<ref name=tinios-ucsb/>

In [[1797]], he first took the name "Hokusai." Devoid of the patronage or support network of a school, for a time he peddled his works alongside condiments and calendars in order to make a living. He continued to produce works in a wide variety of themes and formats, and by the early 1800s was quite active in producing book illustrations to meet the demand of a trend at the time for Chinese subjects and Chinese-style images. [[Richard Lane]] comments that his extensive work with Chinese styles and historical themes in this period caused him to drift away from the aspects which made his figures so compelling or beautiful; they lost some of their softness and grace. However, Hokusai's work became much more dramatic in this period, and became stronger in its depictions of natural landscapes and architecture.

In [[1797]], he first took the name "Hokusai." Devoid of the patronage or support network of a school, for a time he peddled his works alongside condiments and calendars in order to make a living. He continued to produce works in a wide variety of themes and formats, and by the early 1800s was quite active in producing book illustrations to meet the demand of a trend at the time for Chinese subjects and Chinese-style images. [[Richard Lane]] comments that his extensive work with Chinese styles and historical themes in this period caused him to drift away from the aspects which made his figures so compelling or beautiful; they lost some of their softness and grace. However, Hokusai's work became much more dramatic in this period, and became stronger in its depictions of natural landscapes and architecture.