Cat Pawing at Goldfish - Isoda Koryusai - ca. 1770s

Isoda Koryūsai (1735–1790), born Masakatsu Isoda, was a prolific ukiyo-e artist and Japanese painter. He came from a samurai family of the Tsuchiya clan and became a rōnin (a masterless samurai) after the death of his lord. He later moved to Edo, where he began his artistic career under the name Haruhiro (before 1770), eventually adopting the name Koryūsai. There, he developed a style that combined the influence of Suzuki Harunobu with a more robust personal expressiveness and a distinctive use of vivid colors, particularly a rust-orange tone.

Considered by some art historians to be the most productive artist of the eighteenth century, Koryūsai created over 2,500 documented works, including fashion series, bijin-ga (images of beautiful women), hashira-e (pillar prints), and kachō-e (bird-and-flower compositions). His most famous work is the series Models for Fashion (1776), comprising more than 140 prints. He was also among the first to adopt the ōban format (approximately 14 × 10 inches), which later became the standard size for ukiyo-e prints.

In 1781 or 1782, he received the prestigious honorary title of Hokkyo (“Bridge of the Law”) from the imperial court, recognizing both his artistic and scholarly status. He subsequently returned to producing ishizuri-e (stone-rubbed prints), drawing on his early training in the Kanō painting tradition. Despite his vast output and commercial success, he has often been regarded as a “minor master” due to his historical position between Harunobu and Kiyonaga, although recent scholarship has reassessed his importance within the broader context of Edo-period consumer culture.

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