Furuyama Moroshige

Furuyama Moroshige was an artist documented as active during the late 17th century, with an established working period spanning approximately 1650 to 1695. The artist’s output preserved in major institutions comprises both painting and woodblock print design.

The verifiable output of Furuyama Moroshige represented in museum collections totals five works: four prints and one painting. The subject matter of these pieces typically involves genre scenes and figure studies, reflecting the popular culture of the period. Examples of known prints include the detailed theatrical study Collection of Pictures of the Actors in the Four Theatres (Shiza yakusha ezukushi), vol 2 and the figure print Back to back, from a series of 12 prints. Other documented pieces include Young Woman on a Veranda, Scene in a Joroya, and Reading a Letter. The presence of documented Furuyama Moroshige paintings alongside numerous prints establishes the artist’s contribution to both media.

The significance and museum-quality of Moroshige’s surviving work is affirmed by its inclusion in prominent American institutions, notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. As artifacts from this early period, many of these historical images are now part of the public domain, often available as high-quality prints for study and reference.