Movie
Description
Zenjiro, also known professionally as Keisai Eisen, is a fellow artist and frequent presence in Katsushika Hokusai's studio during the Edo period. He collaborates with Hokusai and his daughter O-Ei, creating bijin-ga – portraits of beautiful women that later earn him recognition. His art displays a distinct sensuality and worldly depiction of women, diverging from earlier idealized forms and emphasizing overt sexuality, especially in his erotic works.
Born in 1790 to a family with artistic roots—his father was a calligrapher and poet—Zenjiro faced financial hardship after his parents' deaths. He supported his younger sisters by creating various art forms, including illustrations for fans, kites, and shunga (erotic prints). He studied painting under Kikukawa Eizan and likely received informal training from Hokusai. He later collaborated with Hokusai on projects like the erotic book "Ehon tsui no hinagata" (1812), contributing prefaces and text under his writer's name Jokōken Shujin, while O-Ei executed the final illustrations.
Personally, Zenjiro exhibits dissolute and unruly behavior. He frequently drinks to excess, often appears drunk, and openly discusses his visits to brothels and romantic pursuits. He engages in womanizing and occasionally flirts with or courts O-Ei. However, he ultimately marries another woman and abandons his artistic career. Despite this lifestyle, he is educated and literate, authoring biographies of the Forty-seven Ronin and continuing the "Ukiyo-e Ruiko" (History of Prints of the Floating World). Under the pen name Ippitsuan, he wrote the autobiography "Notes of a Nameless Old Man," deliberately cultivating an image of himself as a reckless drinker and brothel habitué.
He accompanies O-Ei and Hokusai to investigate supernatural occurrences in the Yoshiwara district, such as rumors of a courtesan's disembodied head wandering at night. During these visits, Zenjiro remarks on leaving brothels "chastely" after only conversation. O-Ei held a secret youthful affection for him, though it did not develop further.
Zenjiro dies in 1848, one year before Hokusai's death at age 90. His legacy includes initiating the major print series "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō," completed by Hiroshige.
Born in 1790 to a family with artistic roots—his father was a calligrapher and poet—Zenjiro faced financial hardship after his parents' deaths. He supported his younger sisters by creating various art forms, including illustrations for fans, kites, and shunga (erotic prints). He studied painting under Kikukawa Eizan and likely received informal training from Hokusai. He later collaborated with Hokusai on projects like the erotic book "Ehon tsui no hinagata" (1812), contributing prefaces and text under his writer's name Jokōken Shujin, while O-Ei executed the final illustrations.
Personally, Zenjiro exhibits dissolute and unruly behavior. He frequently drinks to excess, often appears drunk, and openly discusses his visits to brothels and romantic pursuits. He engages in womanizing and occasionally flirts with or courts O-Ei. However, he ultimately marries another woman and abandons his artistic career. Despite this lifestyle, he is educated and literate, authoring biographies of the Forty-seven Ronin and continuing the "Ukiyo-e Ruiko" (History of Prints of the Floating World). Under the pen name Ippitsuan, he wrote the autobiography "Notes of a Nameless Old Man," deliberately cultivating an image of himself as a reckless drinker and brothel habitué.
He accompanies O-Ei and Hokusai to investigate supernatural occurrences in the Yoshiwara district, such as rumors of a courtesan's disembodied head wandering at night. During these visits, Zenjiro remarks on leaving brothels "chastely" after only conversation. O-Ei held a secret youthful affection for him, though it did not develop further.
Zenjiro dies in 1848, one year before Hokusai's death at age 90. His legacy includes initiating the major print series "The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō," completed by Hiroshige.