(b Kyoto, 1723; d Kyoto, 1776). His father died when he was very young and from an early age he had to support himself and his mother. He was trained in both Japanese and Chinese calligraphic styles. When, at the age of six, he displayed his calligraphic skill in front of Obaku (Chin. Huangbo) Zen priests at the sect’s headquarters, the temple of Manpukuji, he was rewarded with laudatory poems. His astonishing dexterity in kana (Japanese phonetic) writing at the age of ten is seen in Two Waka Excerpts from the Kokinshu (New York, Burke priv. col., see Kosugi, pl. 1). By the age of 12 he was already well versed in four different kanji (Chinese character) scripts—kaisho (Chin. kaishu; regular), gyosho (Chin. xingshu; running), tensho (Chin. zhuanshu; seal) and either reisho (Chin. lishu; clerical) or sosho (Chin. caoshu; grass)—as shown by his One Hundred Surnames in Four Styles (ex-Matsuyama priv. col., Osaka; untraced since 1933; only three scripts published; see Ike Taiga meiga fu, p. 80, and Matsushita, p. 12). Having mastered basic calligraphic training, he progressed to ink painting and seal engraving. Taiga began selling fans painted in a Chinese style at 14 and chops (seals) engraved in ornate seal script at 15.

Part of the Ike family

• Ike Taiga
  • Ike
  • Ike: (2) Ike Gyokuran
  • Japan, §VI, 4(i)(c): Late painting: Edo period
  • Japan, §VI, 4(viii)(a): Painting: Late: Naturalistic painting: Maruyama–Shijo school: Introduction
  • Kyoto, §II, 2: Art life, 13th–19th centuries
  • Women and art history, §IV, 4: East Asia: `Amateur’ artists
  • Yosa Buson, §2: 1768 and after
  • patrons and collectors
    • Japan, §XXI, 2(i)(d): Japanese museums: Specialist
  • pupils
    • Japan, §VI, 4(vi)(d): Late foreign-influenced painting: Nanga
    • Japan, §VII, 2(v)(b): Calligraphy: Kyoto revival of late courtly styles
    • Kimura Kenkado
    • Kuwayama Gyokushu
    • Osaka, §I, 3(ii)(c): Art life, late 15th century and after
  • teachers
    • Yanagisawa Kien
  • works
    • Album, §1: East Asia
    • Japan, §VI, 4(vi)(d): Late foreign-influenced painting: Nanga
    • Japan, §VII, 1(iii)(d): Calligraphy: Edo period
    • Japan, §VII, 2(vi)(e): Literati calligraphy: Painter–calligraphers
    • Japan, §VII, 2(vi)(f): Literati calligraphy: Masters of the late Edo and Meiji periods
    • Manpukuji, §3: Artistic and cultural influence
    • Mt Fuji