Page:A history of Japanese colour-prints by Woldemar von Seidlitz.djvu/179

Rh celebrated artists, whose names were similarly formed, do not appear until long after—Kiyomitsu, about the middle of the century; and Kiyonaga, the most perfect representative of Japanese wood-engraving, towards the end of the century.

Beside this Torii school of the first period, and especially beside Kiyonobu II., stands Okumura Masanobu, whose life extended from to, and who claims a special place by himself. He was also a publisher, and signed with the names Bunkaku, Kwammio, Tanchosai, also Genzoku, as well as with his real name. He differs from the Torii in so far that, as a direct pupil of Moronobu and following his style more closely, he seldom produced actor prints, but devoted himself instead to the glorification of feminine charm and beauty; and in the end, his innate sense of grace and pleasing composition enabled him to bring the style of this early period to a perfection and finish not again equalled until the easier mastery of Kiyonaga.

Masanobu's life falls into two clearly separated divisions, the boundary between them being formed by the second half of the thirties. At first he seems, as did his teacher, Moronobu, to have produced in the main book-illustrations (yehons), in black and white. Anderson (Catalogue, p. ) cites several of them, among them a work which treats of beautiful women (bijin). The dates which he gives extend from to, but the first of these  is obviously much too early. In the Hayashi Catalogue (No. seqq.) Masanobu's illustrated books do not begin until, and then follow some of  and. Single sheets coloured with tan are assigned by the Tokio Catalogue (No. seqq.) to about  and. Fenollosa (Outline, pl. iv.) reproduces a hand-coloured actor of about