Kokan Shiba

1747-1818

A painter and writer of the late Edo period (c. 1750 – 1850). Born in Edo. His birth name was Kichijiro Ando. Later, he married into the family of Tsuchida, adopting their family name, and changing his given name to Katsusaburo or Magodayu. In his youth, he was active as an ukiyo-e artist under the name Harushige Suzuki, and in his middle age, as a painter of Chinese and Western-style paintings, he used Shiba as a family name, Shun as a given name, Kungaku as a courtesy name, and Kokan as a pen name. His other pen names include Shunparo, and, in his older age, Fugen, Mugen, and Togen.   

Kokan studied first the painting techniques of the Kano school and then the art of ukiyo-e under Harunobu Suzuki. Next, he studied bird-and-flower painting of the Nanpin school under Shiseki So (real name Kohachiro Kusumoto (1715 – 1786), but the interaction with Naotake Odano (1749 – 1780) of the Akita Ranga school and Gennai Hiraga in the period from 1772 through 1781 brought him under the influence of Western-style painting. With the help of Gentaku Otsuki (1757 – 1827), Kokan researched the technique of etching (copperplate printing) in Dutch books, and in 1783 created and presented Japan’s first etching work Mimeguri no Kei (“View around Sumida River”). He created many other copperplate print sceneries, such as Shinobazu no Ike (“Shinobazu Pond”), Mimeguri no Kei-zu (“View around Sumida River”), Nakasu Yuryo-zu (“View of the Evening around the Sumida River”), and Ryogoku-bashi-zu (“View of Ryogoku Bridge”). Kokan also mastered oil painting (cerography), creating works such as Soshu Kamakura Shichirigahama-zu (“View of Kamakura Shichirigahama Beach”), Ikoku Fukei Jinbutsu-zu (“Exotic Landscapes and People”), and Seiyojin Tarutsukuri-zu (“Westerner Making a Barrel”). 

From 1788 through 1789, Kokan traveled to Nagasaki to study. On his way there, in Osaka, he met Kenkado Kimura (1736 – 1802), and in Nagasaki befriended Dutch interpreters. Through these interactions, he deepened his interest in Western astronomy and human geography. After that, he focused his efforts on creating books and copperplate prints to popularize knowledge about Western natural science. In 1792, he published Yochi Zenzu (“Map of the Earth”), the first map to be engraved on copperplates in Japan, and a manual to the map called Yochi Ryakusetu (“Brief explanation of the Earth”). After that, Kokan published a variety of books, such as Oranda Tsuhaku (“Dutch Navigation”), Oranda Tensetsu (“Dutch Explanation of Heaven”), Kopperu Tenmon Zukai (“Copernican Astronomy Illustrated”), through which he introduced Japan to the geography and customs of countries around the world, as well as astronomical knowledge. In Seiyo Gadan (“Dissertation on Western Painting”), Kokan explained the outstanding qualities of the realism of Western-style painting. 

In his later years, Kokan became familiar with the philosophy of Lao-tse and Chuang-tse and retired to live in seclusion. After that, he engaged in somewhat eccentric behavior. For instance, in January 1808, at the age of 62, he began to add nine years to his true age, and in 1813 sent out his own false death notice. Kokan explained his unique life philosophy in works such as the essays Dokusho Mogen (“Essays Based on Knowledge of Western Studies and Astronomy”) and Mugen Dojin Hikki (“Essays on Fables”), and the memoir Shunparo Hikki (“Impressions on Social Customs in the Late Edo Period”). He passed away on October 21, 1818, in Edo, at the age of 72. Kokan also wrote the travel books Saiyu Ryodan (“Complete Record of the Trip from Edo to Nagasaki”) and Kokan Saiyu Nikki (“Memoirs of Journey”).