Kubo Shunman

Kubo Shunman, a prolific 18th-century Japanese artist, masterfully blended ukiyo-e printmaking with poetry, even designing deluxe prints for fellow artists like Hokusai.

ABOUT

Born around 1757, Kubo Shunman, also known by names like Shosado and Sashodo (reflecting his left-handedness), was a multi-talented Japanese artist and writer. Orphaned young, he studied painting under Katori Nahiko and later ukiyo-e with Kitao Shigemasa. Beyond his visual art, Shunman was a gesaku novelist, and a kyōka and haiku poet, demonstrating a deep engagement with the pleasure-seeking world of his time. His earliest known work dates to 1774, a votive plaque copied fr…

Read Kubo's full story in Art Whisper

NOTABLE WORKS

Viewing Plum Blossoms at Night 1741 · Metropolitan Museum of Art Courtesan on the Town with Attendants at Night 1757 · Cleveland Museum of Art Beauty by the Shore 1778 · Metropolitan Museum of Art Women with Salt Pails; The Noda Tama River in Mutsu Province, from an untitled series of the Six Tama Rivers 1787 · Cleveland Museum of Art Women in a Tea House 1787 · Cleveland Museum of Art Women Cutting Branches of Bush Clover; The Noji Tama River in Omi Province, from an untitled series of the Six Tama Rivers 1787 · Cleveland Museum of Art

See all of Kubo's works in Art Whisper

INFLUENCES

Influenced by

Kitao ShigemasaUkiyo-e Torii KiyonagaUkiyo-e (specifically bijin-ga style)

Influenced

HokusaiUkiyo-e (Shunman provided poetry for his prints)