Okumura Masanobu

Okumura Masanobu, born around 1686 in Edo (modern Tokyo), was a true innovator in the world of Japanese printmaking. While his early life is largely undocumented, he is believed to have been self-taught, absorbing influences from artists like Torii Kiyonobu I and Hishikawa Moronobu. His earliest known work, a print album depicting courtesans in the Yoshiwara pleasure district, dates back to 1701. Initially, Masanobu illustrated novelettes and even wrote some fiction, includi…