Koikawa Shôzan - (Artist Intro)

ARTIST: Koikawa Shôzan

BORN: 1821

DIED: 1907

WORKS:

• 'Travel Pillow for the Fifty-three Stations (Tabimakura Gojusantsugi) ' of the 1850s.,not to be mistaken with but interesting to compare Shozan's designs with the famous 'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido'-series by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - Shozan's album to be posted in November.

Koikawa  Shozan  was  an  artist  active  in  the  shunga publications  with  the  art  name
Insuitei both the Edo period as the Meiji period. Although his shunga work relies heavily on that of his contemporaries, he created a lot of imaginative designs. He published numerous books in which he used various pen names and also made the illustrations for the stories. We can see in the examples of his works below the lavish colours and detail he added to the image.

This  set  of books  contain  39  pages  illustrated  in  colour  with one  large  folding  image.  A  deluxe  edition  lavished printed  with  lacquer  and  metallic  pigments.  Some sources consider Koikawa Shozan and Utagawa Kunimori II (active 1848-60 ca. ) the same artist.

 Examples of his works;

Shaka hasso zoku yamato bunko.
Three volumes, complete, 22,8x15,8 cm.
Edo, 1854.

circa 1854

Lovers on the background of port in Kuwana on the island of Honshu

Series; The Island of Women and the Treasure Ship

Untitled