The famous Japanese painter Hishikawa Shinobu is recognized as the founder of Ukiyo-e. Since there are not many records about Hishikawa Shinobu in historical materials, few people can clearly understand the introduction of Hishikawa Shinobu. Hishikawa Shinobu has a certain reputation and status in the Japanese art world and is highly respected by students.

Hisikawa Shixuan’s works

Speaking of the introduction of Hishikawa Shixuan, we must start from the origin of Hisikawa Shixuan. Hishikawa Shinobu was born in a small village near Edo City, which is now Miyagi Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture. His family has been weaving, dyeing and sewing for generations. His father is a famous local gold and silver brocade artist. As the eldest son, Hishikawa Shinobu learned painting and drawing from his father. Before he was 20 years old, Hishikawa Shinobu began to travel around the world, traveling through the streets and alleys, and drawing illustrations for street novels. These laid a solid foundation for Hishikawa Shinobu's subsequent painting development.

As a civilian painter, Hishikawa Shinobu gradually came into people’s sight. During Manchi's reign, Hishikawa Shinobu learned traditional painting techniques from royal painters at the shogunate court, the Kano School, and the Hasegawa School. Among them, the rich and diverse folk painting styles and the genre paintings evolved from Dahe paintings had the greatest influence on his future creative style.

What needs to be mentioned in Hishikawa Shinobu's introduction is that as the first person to combine printmaking and painting, Hishikawa Shinobu created the astonishing birth of Ukiyo-e. After the publication of "Hundred Family", Ukiyo-e entered the stage of artistic painting. Hiskawa Shinobu's prints greatly improved the status of woodcuts in the field of painting to a certain extent.

Hisikawa Shinobu's works

Hisikawa Shinobu was born in a small village in Edo, Japan in 1618, which influenced the painting trend of the future world. As the founder of Ukiyo-e, Hishikawa Shinobu's works skillfully combine prints and paintings to form his own genre. However, the outstanding achievements of his works are largely due to the unique charm of his own creative style.

Works by Hishikawa Shinobu

For generations, the Hishikawa Shinobu family has been engaged in dyeing, weaving and sewing. His father was also one of the best gold and silver tapestry artists in the area. Since childhood, Hishikawa Shinobu has learned many painting techniques. Later, I learned more about illustration from the royal painters of the Shogunate period. Under the dual influence of theory and practice, Hishikawa Shinobu's works gradually matured and refined, and the themes of his works also became diversified and popular, in line with people's appreciation and taste. These laid the foundation for the widespread dissemination of Hishikawa Shixuan's works.

Hisikawa Shinobu's early works were mainly hand-painted. Later, he began to create hand-painted floating original paintings with the theme of Yoshihara Star or Kabukicho, such as "Yoshihara Star Travel Screen" and "Kikuchi Tea House Entertainment Scroll". The most noteworthy is his first signed picture book "Hundred People of the Wu Family", which has become a symbol of the Ukiyo-e artist entering the social stage. It was also at this time that Hishikawa Shinobu became famous in the woodblock illustration publishing world and became a representative painter of the emerging Japanese painting school at that time. Hiskawa Shinobu's works are widely used and popular with the public. Popular paintings like Ha Da Zhu Quan spread more widely and attracted a lot of people's attention.

Characteristics of Hishikawa Shinobu's creation

Hisikawa Shinobu is famous for his ukiyo-e prints. He integrated the creative characteristics of early painting and illustration schools and established his own creative style. Hiskawa Shinobu's creations are sought after all over the world. Each of his 12 scrolls is transformed into a monochromatic wooden depiction.

Hisikawa Shinobu's works

Hisikawa Shinobu was born in a civilian family and has been influenced by the artistic atmosphere since he was a child. When he was young, he learned from his father, who was a gold and silver brocade artist, and later from the royal painter of the shogunate. At the same time, he insisted on writing and illustrating novels independently. These small accumulations paved the way for Hishikawa Shinobu's later artistic creation, and also provided rich experience and theoretical knowledge for the cultivation of Hishikawa Shinobu's creative personality. As a civilian painter, Hishikawa Shinobu's paintings mainly focus on natural images such as flowers, evening breeze by the river, and pastoral scenery, such as "Tagawa Ueno Custom Picture Screen". In terms of prints, such as "Complete Collection of Rock Wood Paintings" and "Complete Collection of Beauty Pictures", Hishikawa Shinobu prefers genre paintings and pictures of beautiful women.

Hisikawa Shinobu's creative style is varied. It’s really more difficult to divide Hiskawa Shinobu’s creation into its parts. It is a good way to analyze the characteristics of Lingchuan's creation through his works. The unique creative style, thick and smooth brushwork, and appropriate dynamic and static image creation have become an indispensable part of Hishikawa Shixuan's creative characteristics. As a benchmark for ukiyo-e creation, Hishikawa Shinobu's creative style provided reference and creative basis for subsequent ukiyo-e artists.