A World of Edo Art
Kuroda Tōkō (1787–1846) was born into a samurai family of the Tottori clan in western Japan. Tōkō enjoyed painting from a young age, studying shasei (painting from nature) as an apprentice to Hijikata Tōrei, the official painter of the Tottori house. Tōkō is renowned for his lifelike paintings of carp swimming in dark waters, and he is said to have kept carp in his residential pond, observing them to polish his technique. Tōkō was also accomplished in martial arts, including equestrian archery and sword and spear fighting, and his artist's seal indicates that he considered himself a warrior who dabbled in painting.
