flying twigs

Katsukawa Shunshō was a Japanese painter and printmaker known for his ukiyo-e style, particularly his prints of Kabuki actors and Bijin-ga paintings – paintings of beautiful women.

He started life as a student of both haiku and painting. Painting drew him to become a printmaker of the actors he mixed with in the floating world of Ukiyo-e. And from there he gravitated to painting beautiful women who might be courtesans or anyone from that floating world.

After graduating from the school in which he trained, he began his own style under his own name – the Katsukawa school. From there he prospered and took on his own students, among them was the internationally famous artist Hokusai.

This print is entitled Cherry Blossoms and is from the Series Poems on Flowers the Four Seasons. So haiku continued to be a theme that linked his paintings after he developed as a printmaker.

The two women on the right in the scene are holding a handkerchief or similar between them to signify their closeness. And all three are standing close to on another and talking to signify they are close companions. Above them is the cherry blossoms in the title, which suggests the scene is from Spring, one of the four seasons of the title.

This is another image that we may make into a greeting card.