( fl 1765–80s). Japanese painter and woodblock-print designer. He was active during the Edo period (1600–1868) and is said to have been born into the samurai class. His use of the art name (go) Haruhiro around 1766–7 has led some scholars to conjecture that he was a pupil of Suzuki Harunobu, but there is no decisive evidence for this. Koryusai principally created ukiyoe (‘pictures of the floating world’; see JAPAN, §VI, 4(iii)(b)), which frequently depicted scenes from the pleasure quarters of the large cities. He was important in Edo (now Tokyo) for his contribution to the development, started by Harunobu, of nishikie (‘brocade prints’; polychrome prints resembling cloth woven in colours). He is known for depictions of beautiful women (bijinga), for example the First Designs of the Young Leaves, in Pattern Form series (Hinagata wakana no hatsu moyo; woodblock prints; c. late 1770s; e.g. New York, Met.; see fig.), in which young courtesans (the ‘young leaves’ of the title) are shown wearing the latest fashions (see also JAPAN, §IX, 2(iii)(b) and fig. 168). His images bear some resemblance to those of Harunobu, but his frequent use of the reddish colour known as tan is a distinctive feature, and his figures are perhaps more worldly. In the First Designs series, the beauties are depicted on a larger scale and are more decoratively attired than the women designed by Harunobu.

• Isoda Koryusai
  • Japan, §IX, 3(iii)(a): Prints, c 1600–c 1760
  • works
    • Japan, §IX, 3(i)(b): Prints, Edo period and after: Decorative techniques
    • Japan, §IX, 3(ii)(a): Prints, Edo period & after: Production, subject-matter & social context
    • Japan, §IX, 3(iii)(b): Prints, c 1760–c 1780
    • Titles, §2(ii): Japan