Yeishi's vigour, barely sufficient to create his own exquisite works,
could not transmit itself to any very vital body of pupils. Though his
disciples were many, no one of them achieved independent renown; the
seeds of life were not in the teacher. Out of a large number, the
following pupils may be named as the most important:--
ICHIRAKUTEI YEISUI, of whom nothing is known, inherited from his master
an elegance of line that is often pleasing. He cannot, however, be
regarded as an important or original artist. His large bust-portraits,
with charming piquant faces, are his best-known works. His prints are
rare but not especially sought after.
GOKYO, an interesting artist who probably died young, worked in the same
manner as Yeishi. His prints, soft and pleasing in colour, are very rare
indeed; the few known examples of his work have a distinction worthy of
more attention than they have hitherto received. Had he lived he might
have given the school of Yeishi a fresh fame.
YEIRI, of whom not much is known, sometimes signed himself "Yeishi's
pupil Yeiri." He is to be distinguished from the almost contemporaneous
Rekisenti Yeiri. The latter worked more in the style of Utamaro; his
work is rare, and his finest prints are beautiful and valuable. It was
Yeishi's pupil Yeiri who created that rare and astonishing portrait of
Kitao Masanobu which must take a place beside the most brilliant
portraiture of any time or land.
YEISHIN is known only by half a dozen prints; these, though attractive,
are not as greatly prized as their scarcity might lead one to expect.
CHOTENSAI YEIJU is a slightly stiff and not very interesting disciple
whose work is rare.
YEICHO also is notable chiefly for his rarity.
YEIRU followed his master with little originality.
YEIKI and SŌRAKU are later unimportant pupils who followed Utamaro also.
UTAMARO.
_Portrait of a Woman._
In robes like clouds of sunset rolled
About the dying sun,
In splendid vesture of purple and gold
That a thousand toiling days have spun
For thee, O imperial one!--
With the cunning pomp of the later years,
With their pride and glory and stress,
Thou risest; and thy calm forehead bears
These like a crown; but thy frail mouth wears
All of their weariness.
Thou art one of the great who mayest stand
Where Cleopatra stood:
Aspasia, Rhodope, at each hand;
And even the proud tempestuous mood
Of Sappho shall rule thy blood.
Thy throat, in its slender whiteness bare,
Seems powerless to sustain
The gorgeous tower of thy gold-decked hair--
Like a lily's stem which the autumn air
Maketh to shrink and wane.
More haunting music, more luring love
Round thy sinuous form hold sway
Than the daughters of earth have knowledge of
For thou art the daughter of fading day,
Touched with all hope's decay.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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