Hishikawa Moronobu

Moronobu is recognized as the founder of the ukiyo-e tradition and was the first ukiyo-e artist with a body of work bearing his signature. He began his artistic career drawing embroidery patterns with his father, a textile dyer and embroiderer. In 1658, Moronobu moved to Edo to apprentice in painting, where he studied Kano, Tosa, Hasegawa and genre painting, largely depicting bijin (beautiful women) in profile. He soon shifted his medium and became a prolific illustrator. His first known book is signed and dated to 1672. Though Moronobu produced around 60 ehon (illustrated books), many albums of shunga (erotic prints), and single-sheet prints depicting the pleasure-filled world of Edo, the majority of these woodblock prints are unsigned and very few of the single prints survive today.

(source: TAM labels & Ronin Gallery)