Every artist of the day was influenced by Kiyonaga; among those difficult to classify otherwise may be named the following men:--
SANCHO, who worked in the neighbourhood of 1780, produced prints somewhat in the manner of Shuncho. Delicacy rather than strength distinguished him in the few examples of his work I have seen.
HARUMITSU is an artist whose work is known to me only by one pillar-print in my collection. Fenollosa, who once owned the print, noted on the margin of it: "A rare man. Name may be also read Shunko, but not the same as the pupil of Shunsho. A follower of Kiyonaga." And this is all the information I have been able to obtain about him. It is possible that he is the same as Shunko II.
[Illustration: SHUNCHO: GROUP AT A TEMPLE GATE.
A diptych. Each sheet size 15 × 10. Signed _Shuncho ga_. Mansfield Collection.
Your lovely ladies shall not fade Though Yedo's moated walls be laid Level with dust, and night-owls brood Over the city's solitude. Far be the coming of that day! Yet that it comes not, who shall say? Who knows how long the halls shall stand Of your once-golden wonderland? Perhaps shall Nikko crumble down, Its carvings worn, its glow turned brown Through many winters. On that hill Where great Ieyasu's brazen will In brazen tomb now takes its rest, Perhaps the eagle's young shall nest. Kyoto's gardens cannot last. At Kamakura, where the vast Form of the Buddha fronts the sea, A waste of waves may someday be.... Ah, stale and flat the warning bell Whose melancholy accents tell Impermanence to hearts that guess Time's undiscovered loveliness. A fairer Yedo shall arise; A richer Nikko praise the skies; Ieyasus mightier than of old Shall cast the world in wiser mould; Fresh gardens shall be spread; new faith Shall spring when Buddha is a wraith-- And more puissant hands than yours Shall paint anew life's ancient lures. Yet when he comes who shall surpass Your beauty that so matchless was, A joy shall light him through your eyes, A flame shall from your embers rise, Your gentle art shall make him wise In mastery of melodies. And though your wreath in dust be laid, Your lovely ladies shall not fade!
Nothing is known of the life or personality of Katsukawa Shuncho. His name and certain peculiarities of his drawing indicate unmistakably that he began his career as a pupil of Shunsho; but he soon fell under the influence of Kiyonaga and became that artist's most notable follower. His main work lies between the years 1775 and 1800; it is thought that he stopped designing prints before the latter year, though he is said to have lived until after 1821. His designs, one of which appears in Plate 31, comprise chiefly figures of women, drawn with extraordinary grace of line and softness of colouring.