Shunshosai Hokuchō (春曙斎 北頂) (fl. 1822–1830)[1] was a Japanese ukiyo-ewoodblock print artist active in the Osaka area during the first half of the nineteenth century. He was a member of the Shunkōsai Fukushū school of artists,[2] and studied under Shunkōsai Hokushū (春好斎北洲).[3] His original surname was Inoue (井上), and he used the gō art names Shunsho (春曙) (1822-1824), Hokuchō (北頂) (1824-1830), Inoue Shunshosai (井上春曙斎).[4]
Actor Ichikawa Ebijuro as Samurai
As an Osaka-based artist, Hokuchō's works are categorized as kamigata-e (上方絵), a term used to distinguish prints produced in the Kamigata area (Kyoto and Osaka) from those produced in Edo.[5]Kamigata-e were predominantly kabuki-e (歌舞伎絵) images of kabuki actors, and were produced almost exclusively by amateur “talented kabuki fans” promoting their favourite actors rather than professional print designers.[6]
Works
Hokuchō was not a prolific artist and few prints attributed to him survive. Many of his prints are characterized by yellow backgrounds,[7] and all of these images are yakusha-e kabuki actor portraits. Actors featured in his works include Ichikawa Ebijūrō (市川蝦十郎), Nakamura Utaemon (中村歌右衛門), Onoe Kikugorō (尾上菊五郎), Nakamura Karoku (中村歌六), Nakamura Shikan (中村芝翫), Nakamura Kankurō (中村勘九郎), Arashi Rikan (嵐離寛), Seki Sanjūrō (関三十郎), and Nakamura Matsue (中村松江).
The majority of his prints were published by Honya Seishichi (本屋清七) (Honsei), although he also produced works for the firms Tenmaya Kihei (天満屋喜兵衛) (Tenki) and Yamaichi (山市).[8] He regularly worked with Kasuke, one of the most esteemed woodblock carvers of the period.[9][10]
Shunshosai Hokucho signature 01
Modern art historians and critics have not been overly impressed with Hokuchō's skill, describing him as "competent but limited",[11] and less talented than his mentor, Hokushū.[12]
Collections
Works by Shunshosai Hokuchō belong to the permanent collections of various international museums including the following:
^In his exhaustive bibliography of ukiyo-e artists, Kato refers to Hokuchō's contribution— under the name Inoue Shunshosai— in 1839–1840 (Tenpō 10–11) of hanpon sashi-e (版本挿絵) woodblock print book illustrations to 3 different volumes: Kyoto Meishoki (京都名所記), Shūchū Miyako Meishoki (袖中都名所記) and Ehon Otowayama Hana no Shin (絵本音羽山花の賑). Almost all bibliographical references to Hokuchō, however, date the end of his productivity to 1830. Lyon states that Hokuchō's last print was published in the third month of 1833.
Keyes, Roger S.; Mizushima, Keiko (1973), The Theatrical World of Osaka Prints, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, ASINB000XY6OEY
Kitagawa, Hiroko (2005), "Kamigata-e: The Prints of Osaka and Kyoto", in Newland, Amy Reigle (ed.), The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, vol. 1, Amsterdam: Hotei, pp. 229–232, ISBN9074822657
Lyon, Mike (2013), Artist: Shunshosai Hokuchō, Lyon Collection of Japanese Woodblock Prints, retrieved August 1, 2014
Newland, Amy Reigle (2005). The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, vol. 2. Amsterdam: Hotei. ISBN9074822657.
Roberts, Laurance, P. (1980), A Dictionary of Japanese Artists, New York: John Weatherhill, ISBN083480235X((citation)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
