Page:A history of Japanese colour-prints by Woldemar von Seidlitz.djvu/263

Rh be half a century later. The knowledge of perspective, which is distinctly traceable in Toyoharu, and is seen again in Hokusai, may, however, have been passed over to these artists by Gokan. The Hayashi Catalogue (No. 462) gives a (coloured) landscape which he is said to have drawn on stone; but this is most improbable, as lithography was only invented in Europe about 1800.

One of the most faithful pupils of Shunsho's early period was Katsukawa Shunko, who worked chiefly from the latter half of the sixties to the middle of the eighties; towards the end the proportions of his figures became exaggerated. The Hayashi Catalogue (No. 585) gives 1827 as the year of his death. An illustrated book by him appeared at Yedo in 1795. Besides representations of actors and wrestlers, a blind man dancing is cited as by him (illustrated in Hayashi Catalogue, No. 588). One Kichosai Shunko (illustration in Hayashi Catalogue, No. 788) belongs to the nineteenth century. Perhaps he is identical with Shunko II. (ibid., No. 787), who already shows European influences.

There were also engaged in actor representation Katsukawa Shuntoku, Shunyen, and Shunki; of the latter we have a dancing actor, reproduced by Strange, page 34.

Among the pupils of Shunsho's later period Katsukawa Shunyei takes a prominent place. He was born in 1762 and died in 1819. His family name was Isoda, his name in art Kinjiro; he also called himself Kutokusai. It is not without reason that many rate him even higher than his master. Besides his effective and grandly conceived actor likenesses, which remind one of Sharaku, he produced large pictures of wrestlers, which are noted for their excellent drawing; for fans he drew very gay popular compositions, which are effective with very