Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/316

 produced in the second half of the eighteenth century. Scarcely less renowned was another member of the same family, artistically known as Hiyobu-jo or Yūsen (1790). His literary talents were as great as his glyptic skill, and he received from the Yedo Court the honorary title of Hōgen.

It is observable that in this century the artists showed a disposition to make a specialty of particular fields of design. Thus Shōami Tempō (1700), of Kyōtō, confined himself almost exclusively to chiselling peonies and chrysanthemums tossed by the wind. Kikugawa Muneyoshi (1720), of Yedo, commonly called Chōbei, carved chrysanthemums so admirably that Chōbei-kiku (Chōbei chrysanthemums) came to be a synonym for exceptionally fine work of this class. Nara Ichibei (1730), pupil of the great Nara Yasuchika, became so celebrated for chiselling the landscapes of Omi that his contemporaries spoke of him as Miidera Ichibei. Nara Masanaga (1740) obtained equal fame for his moor-scapes with a praying mantis and tufts of soft feathery susuki (Eularia japonica) in the foreground. Uyemura Munemine (1720) of Kyōtō excelled in the chiselling of warriors. Yasuyama Motozumi (1760), of Mito, one of the greatest masters of any era, who was known in art circles as Sekijōken or Tōgū chiselled mythological Chinese figures with extraordinary force and delicacy, his favourite metal being shibuicbi. Shinshichi, of Osaka (1730), chose a fishing-rod and river trout as his specialty. Noda Yoshihiro (1730), of Yedo, chiselled groups of fishes with admirable fidelity. Tamagawa Yoshihisa (1790), of Mito, made himself famous by his dragons. Fujita Katsusada (1700), of