Hanabusa Itchō

Hanabusa Itchō ( Japanese 英 一 蝶 , actually Taga Isaburō ( 多 賀 猪 三郎 ); born 1652 in Osaka ; died February 7, 1724 ) was a Japanese painter during the middle Edo period . He performed a number of Artist name : Choko ( 朝湖 ), Gyōun ( 暁雲 ) Hokusōō ( 北窓翁 ), Hosho ( 宝蕉 ) Ikkan Sanjin ( 一閑散人 ), Ippo Kanjin ( 一蜂閑人 ) Itcho ( 一蝶 ), Kansetsu ( 澗 雪 ), Kyōundō ( 狂 雲堂 ), Kyūsōdō ( 旧 草堂 ), Rinshoan ( 隣 松 庵 ), Rintōan ( 隣 濤 庵 ), Rokusō ( 六 巣 ), Sasuiō ( 蓑 翠 翁 ), Sesshō ( 雪 蕉 ), Shurinsai ( 狩 林 斎 ), Suisaiō ( 翠 蓑 翁 ), Tōitchō ( 島 一 蜂 ), Undō ( 雲堂 ), Ushimaro ( 牛 麿 ), Waō ( 和 央 ).

life and work

Hanabusa Itchō was the son of the doctor Taga Hakuan, who served various daimyo . He went to Edo at the age of 15 and wanted to become a Buddhist priest under the name "Chōko" ( 朝 湖 ). He turned out to be too impetuous and gave up. He then studied painting under Kanō Yasunobu , but here too he rebelled, this time against the Kanō tradition, so that he had to leave the painting school. Then he sought individual support from merchants in the big cities, instead of gaining official recognition by the Shogun or the daimyo.

In 1698 Itchō was exiled to the island of Miyake-jima because he had allowed himself to joke about a preferred concubine of the Shogun. However, he was allowed to paint there, so that he could sell pictures that he signed as "Tōitchō", ie as "Island Itchō". Today these pictures are very much appreciated in Japan. In 1709 he was pardoned and returned to Edo. where he settled in the district of Fukagawa. That was the time from which he called himself "Hanabusa Itchō". Typical for artists of the Genroku era (1688–1704), he lived a vagabond life.

Itchō was an outstanding performer of the daily life of his time, painting street scenes, wandering singers, the inhabitants of the entertainment district Yoshiwara . He was also a good poet. He had learned to write haikus from his friend Matsuo Bashō . Many of his pictures show literary allusions. He was one of the most original painters who had gone through the Kanō school: happy, carefree, with echoes of ukiyo-e , without adopting its content restrictions. He was also good at his drawings, judging overall, not unfairly famous.

The scroll "Zeit" ( Himachi zu ) in the Idemitsu Art Museum was created during the exile. “Horses performing in the morning sun” ( Chōton eiba zu ) in the Seikadō Art Museum, and “Nunosarashi dance” ( Nunosarashi mai zu ).

photos

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literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Hanabusa Itchō . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .
• Laurance P. Roberts: Itchō . In: A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976. ISBN 0-8348-0113-2 .

Web links

Commons : Hanabusa Itcho  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Hanabusa is the family name, Itchō is the first name.