Choryo

Biography:

Tsukioka Kogyo (1869-1927)

Although Kogyo was born the year after
the beginning of the Meiji restoration, which brought Japan into the
modern Western world, he was to become famous for his depiction of
scenes from the traditional Japanese theatre Noh. A talented and
prolific artist he was to create over 550 prints of Noh plays.

At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed
to the great woodblock artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), who had
married his mother. Yoshitoshi, had a “lifelong fascination with Noh”
and influenced his apprentice, to appreciate all aspects of Noh
perfomances.  After Yoshitoshi’s death, he went on to study with the
painter and woodblock artist Ogata Gekko (1859-1920), who had a more
modern style which Kogyo was to adapt for his woodblocks.