Kanagaki Robun, the son of a fishmonger, was originally known for light fiction in the
gesaku genre. He is said to have met painter
Kawanabe Kyosai while writing an account of the
1855 Edo earthquake on the day after it happened. Kyosai's sketch of a
catfish, accompanying Robun's text, was Kyosai's first single-sheet
ukiyo-e woodblock print. Its commercial success saw Robun producing a sequence of catfish pictures (known as
namazu-e). In 1874 the pair collaborated to create what was effectively Japan's first
manga magazine,
Eshinbun nipponchi (
Illustrated News). He also wrote illustrated biographies, including an adapted biography of
Ulysses S. Grant published for Grant's 1879 visit to Japan. ==Works==