Koban (small format), image dimensions 5.25 x 5.5 inches
Isoda Koryusai was a woodblock print artist best known for his bijinga (prints of beautiful women), hashira-e (pillar prints) and a number of shunga (erotic prints). He was born in a samurai household in the service of the Tsuchiya lords but when losing his feudal masters, he moved to Edo where he turned his hand to ukiyo-e.
Characteristics of his work are an emphasis on clothes, elaborate hairstyles and powerful figure-drawing without background. His figures are robust, with rather strong colouring including a distinctive rust-orange that his audience seems to have been particularly fond of.
Around 1780 the honorary title Hokkyo (Bridge of the Law) – reserved for artists and scholars, though originally a rank in the priesthood – was bestowed upon him by the Imperial court. Works with this signature are rare but constitute a unique final phase in the career of one of ukiyo-e's most unusual printmakers.
