Yanagisawa Kien (1704-1758) was a nanga painter and Confucianist of the mid-Edo period. His name is Rikyo, his characters are Komi, commonly known as Gontayu, and another name is Chukei. Also known as Yanagi Rikyu. Second son of Yanagisawa Yasutada, the chief retainer of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. He first studied painting under the Kano school, and later under Yoshida Shusetsu of the Nagasaki school. Strongly influenced by the Nagasaki School, he left many works with detailed sketches and rich colors. He also excelled at finger-and-nail painting, in which he inked his fingers and fingernails, and was particularly fond of painting bamboos. The technique of finger painting influenced Ike Taiga, who studied under Kien. Together with Gion Nankai, Pengcheng Baekcheon, and others, he was a pioneer of Japanese literati painting.
