Torii Kiyomitsu

Illustration — Woddblock print by Torii-Kiyomitsu I, the actor Arashi Sankatsu I. as Kaga no Okiku, 1763 • Illustration — Woodblock print by Torii Kiyomitsu showing kabuki actor Bandō Hikosaburō II as Shita no Kotaro in Katakiuchi Mogami no Inabune • Illustration — Signature of Torii Kiyomitsu reading “Torii Kiyomitsu ga” (鳥居 清満 画) Torii Torii Kiyomitsu was a painter and printmaker of the Torii school of Japanese ukiyo-e art; the son of Torii Kiyonobu II or Torii Kiyomasu II, he was the third head of the school, and was originally called Kamejirō before taking the gō Kiyomitsu. Dividing his work between actor prints and bijinga (pictures of beautiful women), he primarily used the benizuri-e technique prolific at the time, which involved using one or two colors of ink on the woodblocks rather than hand-coloring; full-color prints would be introduced later in Kiyomitsu's career, in 1765. Though scholars generally note his kabuki prints as lacking originality, they see a grace, beauty, and "dream-like quality" in his prints of young men and women which, at times, rivals that of the work of Suzuki Harunobu, who was just beginning his career at this time.

Also recorded as Torii Kiyomitsu I · Kiyomutso · Kamejurō · Kiyomitsu Torii