Itô Shinsui was born Ito Hajime (the eldest) into a middle-class family in Tokyo. In 1908, his father went bankrupt, and at the age of 10, he had to leave school and start working. He was hired at a printing company, the Tokyo Printing Company, and began to take an interest in Japanese art and painting. In 1911, he joined the studio of the painter Kiyokata Kaburagi (1878-1973), while continuing to work and attend evening classes. In 1916, his paintings were noticed by the publisher Watanabe Shosaburo at an exhibition in Kiyokata's studio.
Watanabe was very tempted to make a print based on one of Shinsui's paintings called "Taikyo" (Before the Mirror). After obtaining Kiyokata's approval, he approached the young artist to engage him in this new project. This first print was originally experimental and not intended for publication. But when it was published, it caused a sensation in the art community. It is ironic that Shinsui's very first print, Taikyô - Before the mirror, made for Watanabe Shôzaburô in 1916, was at the same time the best he ever made.
Shinsui collaborated with Watanabe for 45 years until 1960. He also worked with other publishers such as Isetatsu, Katsumura, and Yomiuri Publishing House. In his later years, he devoted himself exclusively to painting. These prints are divided into two groups: Beautiful Women and Landscapes. Some of the paintings have been reproduced as prints by Momose Publishing House.
His best bijin prints were made before the great Tôkyo earthquake in 1923, and after that his work became repetitive, though his artistic inspiration flared up from time to time. His landscapes are instantly recognizable because of the palette he used; they are quite different from what his fellow artist Hasui made in the same period. After WWII Shinsui became a kind of Shin Hanga monument: he was declared an "Intangible Cultural Property" in 1952, and he died a very famous man.
