Mori Sosen

Robert van Gulik called him "an undisputed master" of the painting of the Japanese macaque. When a gibbon was brought in Japan by the Dutch in 1809, creating somewhat of a sensation (gibbons had long been depicted by Japanese artists, based on Chinese paintings of the animal, but no one in Japan had seen a live gibbon for centuries), it was Mori who had created a graphic record of this event as well. It is unknown whether he was born in Osaka, Nagasaki, or Nishinomiya, but he lived in Osaka for most of his life.

Training under Katsube Joshunsai is recorded. Places of work recorded in the authority are Ōsaka. Work by Mori Sosen is recorded in the collections of Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum and Yale University Art Gallery.

• Illustration — Monkeys in a plum tree • Illustration — Apes in a persimmon-tree • Illustration — Monkeys • Illustration — Two monkeys • Illustration — Monkeys playing with a crab • Illustration — Monkeys in a blossoming cherry tree • Illustration — Monkeys in the pines in front of a waterfall • Illustration — Monkeys in the snow • Illustration — Graphic record of the first gibbon imported to Japan. • Illustration — Peacock • Illustration — Painting of a couple of deer, with two monkeys in a tree. • Illustration — Wild boar amidst autumn flowers and grasses

Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the headings Reibyōan, Sosen, Shushō, Jokansai and Shukuga. One child is recorded: Mori Yūsen. Other recorded relations include Mori Tetsuzan.