Sakai Hoitsu · 1761–1828
Sakai Hoitsu
Sakai Hoitsu was a late Edo-period painter and haiku poet. Born into the Sakai family of the Himeji domain, he admired Ogata Korin and recast the Rinpa style with a witty, haiku-like touch, founding the new Edo Rinpa school.
Sakai Hoitsu was born in 1761 (Horeki 11) at the Himeji domain's secondary residence in Kanda Ogawacho, Edo, the second son of Sakai Tadataka, heir to the domain. His elder brother was the domain lord Sakai Tadazane. Following the custom for samurai, he received his first instruction in painting from the Kano school, and in his twenties he also learned the style of the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Toyoharu. Under his brother's protection he became familiar from youth with the literary arts, including haikai.
From his thirties he was drawn to Ogata Korin and studied Rinpa, and at 37 he took Buddhist vows. For the hundredth anniversary of Korin's death, he took part in organizing an exhibition of Korin's works and publishing the Korin Hyakuzu.
He recast the elegant Rinpa style into a poetic, witty style attuned to haiku and became the founder of Edo Rinpa. Summer and Autumn Grasses, painted on the back of the Wind God and Thunder God screens attributed to Korin, is known as his masterpiece.
