Tomioka eisen biography of martin

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Kuchi-e are generally affordable, and so are prints by Eisen Tomioka.

Author:
Dieter Wanczura, revised by AI
First Publication: 7/21/2013
Latest Update: 4/6/2024

Bibliography

• Helen Merritt and Nanako Yamada, "Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975", published by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, ISBN 0-8248-1732-X.

  During the late Meiji period, publishers of newspapers, journals, and books used to sell their products with supplements of woodblock prints. The American author Helen Merritt dedicated an entire book to this genre of Japanese printmaking. In 1890, when Eitaku died, he started as a full-time independent artist.

  

  Tomioka Eisen

  1864 ~ 1905

  Tomioka Eisen, born Tomioka Hidetaro in Nagano Prefecture was the eldest son of a military retainer to the daimyo Matsushiro.

  Eisen Tomioka passed away in 1905 at the young age of 41, just as he was about to fulfill his great dream: becoming what he considered to be a 'real' artist - a recognized painter.

  Initially, he took a position as a civilian employee with the Japanese army to support himself. He began his apprenticeship at 18 under the guidance of Kobayashi Eitaku, a painter from the Kano school.
  In 1878, Eisen worked for the army general staff`s office but shifted his focus to painting in 1882.

  
  'Thirty-Two Aspects of Customs and Manners of Women' was one of the last major series created by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (Taiso) (1839-1892).

  From then on, he became a highly popular artist of sashi-e (newspaper illustrations), collaborating with widely read publications like the Miyako shinbun and Shokokumin.
  Eisen received commissions for books and single-sheet prints, making a decent living from his artwork. During this period he started work as a freelance artist, next to his job as a draughtsman at the office of the army general staff.

  His works, characterized by a keen sensitivity to the fashions and subtleties of the world around him, reflect his skills as a draftsman in kuchi-e and sashi-e, often presented in landscape format with a central fold.

  Biography Eisen, Tomioka (1864 - 1905)

  When he was eighteen years old Tomioka Eisen started studying with Kobayashi Eitaku.

  Kuchi-e by Eisen Tomioka

  The subjects of kuchi-e were selected to complement the story of a novel or a newspaper report.

  Kuchi-e are usually of good quality. Subscribe to the artelino youtube channel. After his teacher`s death in 1890, he left the world of drafting to become an independent artist. After his father`s death, Eisen moved to Tōkyō at the age of 15 to become a draftsman.

  Although he shifted his focus to painting in his later years, Eisen passed away before he could establish himself as a painter. The series belongs without any doubts to Yoshitoshi's best and most popular print publications. Here are a few examples of kuchi-e and other woodblock prints by Eisen Tomioka from our archive of sold prints.

  Tips for Collectors

  Like most kuchi-e, the woodblock prints designed by Tomioka Eisen are mostly in landscape format and have a central fold.

  He moved to Tokyo with the intention of becoming a full-time artist.

  Later, he resigned from this position to study art with Kobayashi Eitaku.