Kaigetsudō Ando

Who was Kaigetsudō Ando?

Kaigetsudō Ando, also known as Ando Yasunori, was a Japanese painter, and the founder of the Kaigetsudō school of ukiyo-e. Though very influential and prolific, it is quite probable that many of the works attributed to him were actually painted by his disciples. He is something of a rarity among major ukiyo-e artists, in that he was only ever a painter, and never produced woodblock prints.

Ando lived in the Suwa-chō district of Asakusa, in Edo, very near the Sensō-ji, and on a major road which led to the Yoshiwara, roughly a mile north of the city. Principally active from 1700–1714, it has been surmised by some scholars that his early training may have been in ema, wooden votive tablets sold at Shinto shrines. One of the distinctive elements of his style is the sense of emptiness around his figures, an element which fits well with the medium of the ema; this theory is supported by the idea of his location on the main road, where a great number of pilgrims and travelers would have passed daily.

Some scholars dismiss this theory, but it is nevertheless evident that Ando was closely connected to the trends of popular culture, art, and literature at the time. His style shows influences of the father of ukiyo-e painting, Hishikawa Moronobu, and his disciples, as well as influences from book illustrators such as Yoshida Hanbei.