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He was born Sakai Tadanao, the second son of [[Sakai Tadazumi]], the first [[Sakai clan]] lord of [[Himeji han]];<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 229.</ref> Tadanao later took on the [[art-name]] (''gô'') Hôitsu, along with numerous other pseudonyms, including [[poetry names]] and a monastic name. Outside of a few journeys to [[Kyoto]] and Himeji, Hôitsu remained in Edo throughout his life.

He was born Sakai Tadanao, the second son of [[Sakai Tadazumi]], the first [[Sakai clan]] lord of [[Himeji han]];<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 229.</ref> Tadanao later took on the [[art-name]] (''gô'') Hôitsu, along with numerous other pseudonyms, including [[poetry names]] and a monastic name. Outside of a few journeys to [[Kyoto]] and Himeji, Hôitsu remained in Edo throughout his life.

He began his artistic career pursuing a variety of talents & interests, including studying [[Kano school|Kanô school]] painting, producing ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' ''[[bijinga]]'' in the style of [[Utagawa Toyoharu]]), and dabbling in both ''[[yamato-e]]'' and Western modes of painting, including the styles of the [[Maruyama-Shijo school|Maruyama-Shijô school]] and [[Ito Jakuchu|Itô Jakuchû]]. After taking the tonsure in [[1797]], taking on the monastic name Monsen Kishin, however, Hôitsu switched to producing works more purely in the Rinpa mode. His family had been patrons of [[Ogata Korin|Ogata Kôrin]] ([[1658]]-[[1716]]) during Kôrin's life, and owned a number of his works, many of which served as models or inspiration for Hôitsu. Having been born in Edo, however, he tried to create an Edo brand of Rinpa (in contrast to the Kyoto Rinpa of Ogata Kôrin and his predecessors, [[Honami Koetsu|Hon'ami Kôetsu]] and [[Tawaraya Sotatsu|Tawaraya Sôtatsu]]), including Edo themes such as [[Mt. Fuji]] and morning glories (''asagao'') in his paintings.

He began his artistic career pursuing a variety of talents & interests, including studying [[Kano school|Kanô school]] painting, producing ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' ''[[bijinga]]'' in the style of [[Utagawa Toyoharu]]), and dabbling in both ''[[yamato-e]]'' and Western modes of painting, including the styles of the [[Maruyama-Shijo school|Maruyama-Shijô school]] and [[Ito Jakuchu|Itô Jakuchû]]. After removing himself from the lordly succession due to poor health, and taking the tonsure in [[1797]], Hôitsu took on the monastic name Monsen Kishin, and set himself up a studio in Edo where he dedicated himself to poetry, calligraphy, and painting.<ref>Christine Guth, ''Art of Edo Japan'', Yale University Press (1996), 122.</ref> It was around this time that Hôitsu switched to producing works more purely in the Rinpa mode. His family had been patrons of [[Ogata Korin|Ogata Kôrin]] ([[1658]]-[[1716]]) during Kôrin's life, and owned a number of his works, many of which served as models or inspiration for Hôitsu. Having been born in Edo, however, he tried to create an Edo brand of Rinpa (in contrast to the Kyoto Rinpa of Ogata Kôrin and his predecessors, [[Honami Koetsu|Hon'ami Kôetsu]] and [[Tawaraya Sotatsu|Tawaraya Sôtatsu]]), including Edo themes such as [[Mt. Fuji]] and morning glories (''asagao'') in his paintings.

Towards the end of [[1809]], opened his own artist's studio in [[Negishi]], called Ugean (雨華庵). In [[1815]], Hôitsu organized an exhibition of Kôrin's works, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Kôrin's death, and also had published a book entitled ''Kôrin hyakuzu'' ("One Hundred Pictures by Kôrin"). Hôitsu was closely connected with intellectual and cultural circles in Edo, and an 1820 painting believed to have been created for his 60th birthday, or at a New Year's celebration, includes contributions from a total of sixty-nine artists, poets, and other prominent figures, including [[Watanabe Kazan]], [[Tani Buncho|Tani Bunchô]], and Hôitsu himself.<ref>"[http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/60012949 Miscellaneous Paintings and Calligraphy for the Third Year of the Bunsei Era]." Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref> The majority of his most famous works are believed to have been produced around this time, and in the following years, when Hôitsu was in his sixties. At least one of his works, a pair of folding screens depicting waves against a silver-foil background, based on a painting by Kôrin, is today a [[National Treasure]]. Hôitsu also produced throughout his life, in addition to Rinpa paintings, ''[[haiku]]'' and ''[[haiga]]'' (simple playful paintings in the spirit of haiku).

Towards the end of [[1809]], opened his own artist's studio in [[Negishi]], called Ugean (雨華庵). In [[1815]], Hôitsu organized an exhibition of Kôrin's works, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Kôrin's death, and also had published a book entitled ''Kôrin hyakuzu'' ("One Hundred Pictures by Kôrin"). This book, with a preface by [[Kameda Bosai|Kameda Bôsai]], made a notable impact in reviving interest in Rinpa style among artists across the archipelago.<ref>Guth, 123.</ref> Hôitsu was closely connected with intellectual and cultural circles in Edo (including in the [[Yoshiwara]]), and an 1820 painting believed to have been created for his 60th birthday, or at a New Year's celebration, includes contributions from a total of sixty-nine artists, poets, and other prominent figures, including [[Watanabe Kazan]], [[Tani Buncho|Tani Bunchô]], and Hôitsu himself.<ref>"[http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/60012949 Miscellaneous Paintings and Calligraphy for the Third Year of the Bunsei Era]." Metropolitan Museum of Art.</ref> Further, a number of his own ''[[haikai]]'' and ''[[kyoka|kyôka]]'' poems appear in a compilation by [[Utamaro]]. The majority of Hôitsu's most famous works are believed to have been produced around this time, and in the following years, when Hôitsu was in his sixties. At least one of his works, a pair of folding screens depicting waves against a silver-foil background, based on a painting by Kôrin, is today a [[National Treasure]]. Hôitsu also produced throughout his life, in addition to Rinpa paintings, ''[[haiku]]'' and ''[[haiga]]'' (simple playful paintings in the spirit of haiku).

Among his students, [[Suzuki Kiitsu]] is perhaps the most famous today.  

Among his students, [[Suzuki Kiitsu]] is perhaps the most famous today.