Itō was born in the
Fukagawa district of
Tokyo. After unwise investments bankrupted his father's business, he was forced to drop out of elementary school in the third grade and became a live-in apprentice at a printing shop. It was in this manner that he became interested in printing techniques and also in the arts. In 1911, Itō was accepted as an apprentice under
Kaburagi Kiyokata, (who gave him the pseudonym of "Shinsui") and issued his first
woodblock print the following year. His talent was soon apparent, and from the following year, his paintings were entered in public exhibitions. In 1912, his works were first shown by the
Tatsumi gakai ("Southeast Painting Society") and later works were displayed by the
Kyodokai ("Homeland Society"), the
Nihon bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute), and in the government sponsored
Bunten show. His works were received with much praise by
art critics, and his reputation was soon made. His early works won numerous awards, and he accepted a post at the
Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun to supply illustrations for newspapers. As with most artists of the
shin-hanga movement (notably
Kawase Hasui), Itō was spotted by publisher
Watanabe Shōzaburō, who effectively monopolized the market. Itō came to be known as a specialist in the
bijin-ga ("picture[s] of beautiful women") genre, although he also occasionally painted
landscapes. Itō's first major print, "Before the Mirror", depicts a young woman wearing a deep red
kimono under-robe, looking off into an unseen mirror. Instead of using the harsh
aniline red common in other contemporary prints, Itō used a
natural vegetable dye, overprinting the robe several times to achieve a rich crimson color. Special care was also taken for the speckled gray texture background, making a contrast with the red garment, black hair, and white skin. Itō's early landscape series,
Eight Views of Lake Biwa inspired Kawase Hasui. His early
bijin-ga are generally considered his finest works, including
Twelve Figures of New Beauties (1922–1923). Itō established his own independent studio in 1927. Although many of his early works were direct reflections of traditional
ukiyo-e both in subject matter and in style, his technique was revolutionary. Ito would paint a "master painting" in
watercolors, and dedicated craftsmen would make the actual prints from this "master copy". Itō was thus a pioneer in the
shin-hanga movement. Watanabe and Itō continued their business cooperation into the 1960s, and Watanabe exported thousands of Shinsui prints, generating great success for them both. , collector Robert O. Muller, Inge Muller, Itō Yoshiko and Itō Shinsui. Left to right, front row:
Kasamatsu Shirō and publisher
Watanabe Shōzaburō, April 1940 During the
Pacific War, Itō was drafted by the Japanese government into producing
propaganda art. He was sent to the
South Pacific and Japanese-occupied
Netherlands East Indies, and completed over 3000 sketches during his travels to various islands under Japanese rule. At the end of the war, he relocated from the ruins of Tokyo to
Komoro in the mountains of
Nagano Prefecture. He relocated from there to
Kamakura, Kanagawa, in 1949. In the post-war period Itō came to be regarded as one of the best known and respected personalities in Japanese society, and received several important honors during his lifetime. In 1952 the "Commission for the Protection of Cultural Properties" (
Bunkazai Hōgō Iinkai) declared his woodblock designing talent to be of "intangible cultural properties" (
mukei bunkazai) which was then the equivalent of being declared a
Living National Treasure. In 1958, he became a member of the
Japan Art Academy. In 1970, he received the
Order of the Rising Sun. One of Itō's works,
Yubi, ("Finger") was the subject of the 1974 Philatelic Week
commemorative postage stamp issued by the Japanese post office. Another work,
Fubuki ("Blizzard") was depicted on a 1983 Japanese commemorative postage stamp as part of the Modern Japanese Arts series. Itō's daughter,
Yukiji Asaoka, is an actress and singer. Itō died in 1972 of cancer. His grave is at the temple of Ryūsō-in in
Shinagawa, Tokyo. ==Major works==