. Chats on Japanese prints. do Katsunobu, Kiyoro,Tadaharu, and Nakaji Sadatoshi. A Figure. Okumura Masanobu. Garbed in flowing folds of light,Azure, emerald, rose, and white,Watchest thou across the night. Crowned with splendour is thine head;All the princes great and deadRound thy limbs their state have shed— Calm, immutable to head and poised hand,Oer the years that flow like sand. Okumura Masanobu may be termed the centralfigure of this period: not onlydoes he tower among the greatestmen of the time, but around himrevolve the changes in technique,full of far-reaching conseque
. Chats on Japanese prints. do Katsunobu, Kiyoro,Tadaharu, and Nakaji Sadatoshi. A Figure. Okumura Masanobu. Garbed in flowing folds of light,Azure, emerald, rose, and white,Watchest thou across the night. Crowned with splendour is thine head;All the princes great and deadRound thy limbs their state have shed— Calm, immutable to head and poised hand,Oer the years that flow like sand. Okumura Masanobu may be termed the centralfigure of this period: not onlydoes he tower among the greatestmen of the time, but around himrevolve the changes in technique,full of far-reaching consequences,which came into being with hisinvention of two-colour printing. Furthermore, he takes on anadditional historical importance asthe founder of the OkumuraSchool, which continued parallelwith the Torii School, and whoseproductions are characterized bya finer development of grace andelegance than is to be found inthe output of the rival line. Masanobu was born about 1685,and lived until about 1764—a life of very nearly. OKUMURA MASANOBU . 96 CHATS ON JAPANESE PRINTS eighty years, full of varied achievements. Duringthe course of his career he used many names, amongwhich Genpachi, Hogetsudo, Tanchosai, Bunkaku,and Kammyo are the most frequent. Little is knownof his life except that he began as a bookseller inYedo. He is reputed to have been a pupil ofKiyonobu, but Mr. Arthur Morrison believes thisto be an error, and thinks thatMasanobu was an independentartist educated in no one of theYedo schools. Whichever accountmay be correct, it is at leastcertain that Masanobu shows ink% his work few traces of resemblance fel to the first of the Torii masters. • I It is equally clear that he was early and strongly influenced byj^jZ^ the work of Moronobu, who died when Masanobu was only ten yearsold, but whose designs were ofcourse still widely known. It issaid that soon after 1707 Masanobufounded a publishing establishmentin connection with his book-shop,issuing prints as well as boo
Size: 1029px × 2428px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192402333, bookyear1915
