Reproduction of Tsuchiya Koitsu's print, The Yomeimon Gate at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Reproduction of Tsuchiya Koitsu's print, The Yomeimon Gate at the Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Tsuchiya Koitsu, born as "Koichi" in Hamamatsu, moved to Tokyo at the age of 15 to become an apprentice to a woodblock carver who worked for the artist Kobayashi Kiyochika. He joined Kiyochika's studio and spent 19 years there, learning drawing and composition. His first works depicted the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. After meeting the publisher Watanabe in 1931, he created his first Shin-Hanga print in 1932 and primarily produced landscapes influenced by Kiyochika and Kawase Hasui, known for their interpretation of light. Koitsu has no connection to the artist Ishiwata Koitsu.