Painter. Born in 1658.
Born in 1658, he was the second child of Ogata Soken, a kimono merchant in Kyoto. His childhood name was Ichinojo, his first name was Tadatomi, and his last name was Iryo. His aliases included Hoshu, Jakumei, Aoyodo, and Choeiken. He first studied painting under Yamamoto Soken in the Kano school, but eventually became a patron of Tawaraya Sotatsu, and developed the Rimpa school of painting, which was characterized by a rich, light, elegant, and decorative style, drawing on traditional Yamato-e techniques. He devoted himself to his father’s legacy in order to lead a brilliant artistic life. In 1698, he was banished from Kyoto because of the shogunate’s prohibition against the abuse of gold and silver, but he was allowed to return to Kyoto after more than a year, and in 1701 he was appointed to the rank of Hohashi. He is considered to be an artist of wide-ranging artistic talent who symbolized the Genroku era (1688-1704). He produced lacquer works with Korin makie lacquer, clothing with Korin designs, and pottery with Korin paintings, which he created in collaboration with his brother Kenzan’s Narutaki kiln, as well as designs by Korin. He studied tea ceremony under Zui-ryu Soza, and died on June 2, 1716 at the age of fifty-nine. Rimpa is the name given to the school of paintings represented by Korin, and it is a lineage that continues with Hon’ami Koetsu, Tawaraya Sotatsu, Korin, Kenzan, and Sakai Hoitsu.
