Sekien Toriyama

Sekien Toriyama

Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788) was an impression artist of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese painting, who specialized in yōkai. He was Utamaro's teacher. He used to be a painter of the Kano school. In the year 1780, Sekien undertook a careful study of Japanese supernatural beings. His goal was Gazu Hyakki Yakō. The first volume appeared in 1781, under the title The Enlightened Parade of the Night of Hundred Devils Gazu Hyakki Yakō. Three more volumes followed: The hundreds of enlightened demons of the present and the past Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki, Supplement to the hundreds of demons of the present and the past Konjaku Hyakki Shūi, and The illustrated bag of hundreds of demons at random Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure bukuro .