Toriyama Sekien

  • Born: 1712
  • Died: 1788
  • Japanese: 鳥山石燕 (Toriyama Sekien)

Toriyama Sekien was an ukiyo-e artist best known, perhaps, for works depicting monsters, ghosts, and demons, such as his 1776 "Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons" (Gazu hyakki yagyô).

Sekien's 1774 Sekien gafu ("Collection of Images by Sekien") is regarded as the first work to use bokashi gradation printing techniques.

Sekien's students included Koikawa Harumachi, Kitagawa Utamaro, Utagawa Toyoharu, and Eishôsai Chôki.