Koitsu (1870-1949) was one of the leading print designers of the shin hanga school of prints, specializing in landscape prints.
He was born in the suburb of Hamamatsu; his original name was Shinsei Kōichi. He originally moved to Tokyo at the age of 15 to study under the block-carver Matsuzaki. The latter was a carver for the late Meiji period woodblock master Kiyochika.
Through this connection, Koitsu became known to Kiyochika, and became his pupil; Kiyochikax took him into his house, where he remained as a member for 19 years. He first designed woodblock prints during the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895), but mostly worked in lithography.
a He only really came into his own after he met Watanabe Shozaburo, the founder of the Back to JNC's home page