MIYAGAWA CHOSHUN

born 1682, Owari province [now in Aichi prefecture], Japan died Dec. 18, 1752, Edo [now Tokyo] Choshun also rendered Nagaharu, original name Kiheiji, also called Chozaemon Japanese painter of the ukiyo-e style of popular, colourful art based on everyday life. He was the founder of the Miyagawa school of painting. Choshun went to Edo about 1700 and fell under the influence of the works of Hishikawa Moronobu (d. c. 1694), who established the basic ukiyo-e style in both painting and wood-block printing. Choshun concentrated on painting, rather than on print designs, and drew his pictures with fluid lines and subtle colouring. He was also adept at depicting crowds. At one time, when some painters were commissioned to repair the family shrine of the Tokugawa shogunate at Nikko, the artist Kano Shunga invited Choshun, famous as a colourist, to participate. But in a dispute over fees, Choshun was insulted and physically hurt at Shunga's home. Choshun's son and pupils retaliated by attacking and wounding members of the Kano clan. Choshun was then expelled from Edo for two years. Among Choshun's notable paintings are the picture scroll Engeki zukon (Theatre Scenes) and Fuzoku zukan (Panorama of Contemporary Life).