Kubo Shunman · 1757–1820
Kubo Shunman
Kubo Shunman was a late Edo-period ukiyo-e artist, popular fiction writer, and kyoka poet. A pupil of Kitao Shigemasa, he excelled at kyoka surimono, of which he is said to have made as many as 500.
Kubo Shunman was born in Edo in 1757 (Horeki 7). He lost his father at an early age and was raised by an uncle. He first studied under Katori Nahiko and called himself Harumitsu, and around the end of the An'ei era he entered the school of Kitao Shigemasa and took the name Kitao. When Katori died in 1782 (Tenmei 2), he changed his art name to Shunman. His fellow pupils included Kitao Masanobu (Santo Kyoden) and Kitao Masayoshi (Kuwagata Keisai).
His working years ran from the middle of the An'ei era to the end of the Bunka era. His first work is said to be a kibyoshi published in 1779 (An'ei 8), and he later was active producing kyoka surimono and illustrations for printed books. His style is closer to the beauty paintings of Torii Kiyonaga than to those of his teacher Shigemasa; it is restrained, and he made few beauty prints in nishiki-e but many hand-painted beauties.
He was a man of many talents who studied kyoka under Ishikawa Masamochi and became a judge, and who was also skilled in inlaid-gold carving and shellwork. He died in 1820 (Bunsei 3) at the age of 64. Night Scene, Inside and Out is one of his works.
