Kyōsai 暁斎

Kyosai was born in 1831, the son of a man who recently joined the samurai class. Kyosai displayed an early ability for sketching, and enrolled in the studio of Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1837 for two years before he became a pupil of the Kano school, although he continued to paint from life (shasei), as emphasized by Kuniyoshi. Although Kyosai was adept at painting in almost any theme or genre, he is best known for his kyoga ("crazy pictures"), humorous images that poked fun at almost every subject.