Tsuchiya Koitsu

<p>Tsuchiya K?itsu ( ???? (September 23 1870 - November 13 1949)) was a Japanese artist in the Shin-hanga movement. He trained under the ukiyo-e master Kobayashi Kiyochika for 19 years and initially focused on works depicting scenes from the First Sino-Japanese War. In 1931 at the age of 60 he began work for Sh?zabur? Watanabe and his art publishing establishment which also published the work of artists like Kawase Hasui and Yoshida Hiroshi. His later work incorporated light effects to increase the emotional impact of his art.</p><p>Tsuchiya Koitsu was born on September 23 1870 in Hamamatsu Shizuoka Japan. His birth name was either Koichi or Sahei. His artistic talent was recognized at an early age and moved to Tokyo when he was 15. He first had an apprenticeship for the woodblock carver Matsuzaki but soon became a student of ukiyo-e master Kiyochika Kobayashi who taught him the techniques of woodblock printing and Ogata Gekko. Koitsu's early works were influenced by Kiyochika's style which was characterized by bold and dynamic compositions. He worked for Kiyochika for 19 years and lived in his house.</p>