Ito Shinsui was born in Tokyo. He was forced to seek work at a very early age, due to an impoverished family. He was hired by the Tokyo Printing Company and earned an apprenticeship at age 14. He studied with Kaburagi Kiyokata and attended night school at the same time. In 1916 Watanabe Shozaburo discovered his talent, and they collaborated on prints for the next 25 years. Watanabe exported hundreds of Shinsui prints. Shinsui's landscape series 'Eight Views of Lake Biwa' (1917-1918), inspired Kawase Hasui, another prolific collaborator with Watanabe. Shinsui's early prints of 'bijin-ga', among his finest, include the series 'Twelve Figures of New Beauties' (1922-1923). After the 1923 Kanto earthquake he continued to make many prints of bijin-ga including 2 series of 12 prints each entitled 'Collection of Modern Beauties' (1929-1931 and 1931-1936). In 1952 Shinsui's woodblock designing skill was designated an Intangible Cultural Property. In 1958 he was appointed to the Japan Art Academy and in 1970 was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. |
