Kikukawa Eizan

Typical signature of Kikukawa Eizan reading Kikukawa Eizan hitsu

Geisha playing go, a woodblock print by Kikukawa Eizan

Kikukawa Eizan (1787-1867) (Japanese: 菊川 英山) was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He first studied with his father, Eiji, a minor painter of the Kanō school. He then studied with Suzuki Nanrei (1775-1844), an artist of the Shijō school. He is believed to have also studied with the ukiyo-e artist Totoya Hokkei (1790-1850). He produced numerous woodblock prints of beautiful women in the 1830s, but then abandoned printmaking in favor of painting.

This artist should not be confused with Harukawa Eizan, a designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints who was active in the 1790s.

References

• Lane, Richard, Images from the Floating World, The Japanese Print, New York, Putnam, 1978, 221.
• Newland, Amy Reigle, The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints, Amsterdam, Hotei Publishing, 2005, Vol. 2, 458.