Kikugawa Toshinobu, known as Eizan, was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the ukiyo-e style. He lived in Edo and was the son of a Kano-style painter and maker of fans. Eizan was taught first as an artist by his father, then by Suzuki Nanrei and Iwakubo Hokkei, and he was influenced by Utamaro and Hokusai. From the early 1800s until he retired in 1830, he became the leading designer of bijinga (which was based on Utamaro's late style) and actor prints as well as erotica. Groups of women and children are also among his favorite subjects. He founded the so-called Kikugawa style.
Laurance P. Roberts, A Dictionary of Japanese Artists. Weatherhill, 1976.
