The ukiyo-e artist Isoda Koryusai produced thousands of designs between1769 and 1781, a crucial period in the evolution of the print tradition,and was honored with the imperial title of hokko, yet he has been longneglected by scholars. Allen Hockley has identified more than 2,500designs of wide-ranging formats and themes, demonstrating that Koryusaibroadened the treatment of traditional print subjects and appealed to awider and more varied audience. Koryusais sheer output suggests he mayvery well be the most productive artist of the eighteenth century.Refuting outmoded paradigms of connoisseurship and challenging theassumptions of conventional print scholarship, Allen Hockley elevates thisimportant figure from the status of a minor Edo-period artist. He arguesthat Koryusai excelled by the most significant measure-he was a highlysuccessful creator of popular commodities. Employing an "active audience"model, Hockley reshapes the study of ukiyo-e as a scholarly discipline byassessin...