Keisai Huwagata (1764-1824) was an ukiyoe artist of the late Edo period. He first studied under Kitao Shigemasa and went by the name Kitao Masami. His sibling apprentice was Santo Kyoden (Kitao Masayasu).
He started his career as an illustrator and became famous for his bird’s eye view of Edo (present-day Tokyo).
After becoming an official painter of the Tsuyama domain in 1794, he studied under Tadanobu Kano and took the name Keisai Huwagata or Shoshin.
He stopped making prints and painted more with his own hand. His style was not only that of the Kano school, but he also mastered a wide range of traditional painting styles such as Yamato-e and Rimpa school,
He was a highly acclaimed painter at the time, and his name is listed alongside those of Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Toyokuni, and Utagawa Kunisada in “Gesaku-sha-ko Supplementary Volume” by Kimura Mokuro.
