Suzuki Harunobu and Japanese Erotica | A R T L▼R K

On the 7th of July 1770, allegedly, Japanese woodblock print artist Suzuki Harunobu died of a sudden illness. The place and real cause of his death remain unknown. In fact, except for his artistic endeavours, very little is known about his life at all. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo), Harunobu was the first to successfully produce multicoloured prints called nishiki-e (brocade pictures). Their sumptuous and brilliant colours required the use of only the highest quality paper and costly pigments. The prints “were characterized by suppleness of line, rhythmic composition, simplicity and economy of design, and bright but delicate use of green, blue, purple, brown, pink, yellow, and gray. The innocent expressions of the doll-like women and boyish men, and the lyrical and ethereal aura of the designs, were particularly irresistible.” (Cecilia Segawa Seigle, Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan). The prints were also unique from a compositional point of view. Harunobu was, in fact, the first successful artist to combine the technical…

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