Native name 池玉瀾 Other names Tokuyama Gyokuran Residence Gion | Full Name Machi (町) Died 1784 Other name Tokuyama Gyokuran | |
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Occupation Painter, calligrapher, and poet Spouse Ike no Taiga (m. 1746; d. 1776) | ||
Ike Gyokuran (池玉瀾, 1727–1784) was a Japanese painter, calligrapher, and poet. She was famous in Kyoto, Japan, during her lifetime, and she remains a celebrated artist in Japan.
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Her parents gave her the birth name Machi (町). As a child, she was given the art-name Gyokuran, most likely by her painting teacher Yanagisawa Kien (1707–1758). Gyokuran married fellow artist Ike no Taiga, and she is best known by her married name Ike Gyokuran. Her surname before marriage was Tokuyama, and she is also known as Tokuyama Gyokuran.
Early life and education
Gyokuran's husband Taiga taught her the painting style of the nanga (Southern painting) movement, a Japanese version of a Chinese style. Gyorkuran, in turn, taught her husband poetry in the Japanese waka style, in which she was proficient.
Career and impact
Gyokuran painted folding screens and sliding doors, handheld scrolls, hanging scrolls, and fan paintings. "It was exceptionally rare for women in 18th century Japan to be painters," according to Anne d’Harnoncourt, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gyokuran and her husband Taiga dedicated themselves to making art, living on little money, and sometimes collaborating on art pieces. She lived with Taiga in a small studio next to the Gion shrine in Kyoto. Gyokuran created folding screens, handheld scrolls, hanging scrolls, and fan paintings. She also often painted small scenes, on which she inscribed her poems in calligraphy.
Awards and honors
Some of Gyokuran's works are designated Japanese National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.