Masayoshi Kitao

Ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo period. Born as the son of a tatami merchant in Edo. First called Akabane, later called Kuwagata. His given name was Tsuguzane, his pen name was Kokei, his pen names were Keisai and Sugigo, and he was commonly known as Sanjiro. In his later years, he was known by the artist name Kuwagata Keisai. A pupil of Kitao Shigemasa, he made his debut as an ukiyo-e artist in 1780 (An'ei 9) with illustrations for "Twelve Zodiac Rat Momotaro" and several other yellow-covered books. He provided illustrations for a wide variety of printed books, including yellow-covered books, joke books, story books, humorous books, geographical books, and essays, and from around the middle of the Tenmei era (1781-1789) he produced Nishikie prints of beautiful women, warrior pictures, and ukie woodblock prints. In May 1794 (Kansei 6), he became an official painter for the Lord of Tsuyama, and in June 1797 he changed his surname to Kuwagata and became a disciple of Kano Yosen'in Korenobu, an inner palace painter for the shogunate. From the middle of the Kansei era (1789-1801) onwards, he published many art books such as "Abbreviated Drawing Style" (published in 1795) and "Abbreviated Drawing Style for Landscapes" (published in 1800), and also devoted himself to original paintings such as "Illustrated Words of Modern Artisans" (Tokyo National Museum).

[Tadashi Kobayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の浮世絵師。江戸の畳商の子として生まれる。初め赤羽、のち鍬形(くわがた)氏。名は紹真(つぐざね)、字(あざな)は子景、号は蕙斎(けいさい)、杉皐(さんこう)、通称三二郎。晩年は鍬形蕙斎の画名で聞こえた。北尾重政(しげまさ)の門人で、1780年（安永9）に『十二支鼠(ねずみ)桃太郎』ほか数点の黄表紙に挿絵を描き、浮世絵師としてデビューした。黄表紙、洒落本(しゃれぼん)、噺(はなし)本、滑稽(こっけい)本、地誌、随筆類など多方面の版本に挿絵を提供、また天明(てんめい)年間（1781～89）のなかばごろから美人画や武者絵、浮絵(うきえ)などの錦絵(にしきえ)を発表した。94年（寛政6）5月、津山侯のお抱え絵師となり、97年6月鍬形氏に改姓、幕府の奥絵師狩野養川院(かのうようせんいん)惟信(これのぶ)に入門した。寛政(かんせい)年間（1789～1801）なかば以降『略画式』（1795刊）、『山水略画式』（1800刊）などの画譜類を多く出版、また『近世職人尽絵詞(えことば)』（東京国立博物館）など肉筆画に主力を注いだ。

［小林　忠］

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