Lit. "Torii school." A family of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists which became a school, and whose lineage, beginning in the late 17th-century Genroku 元禄 (1688-1704) era, has continued until the present day. It has done so by acquiring a monopoly of commissions for painting theater posters shibai-e 芝居絵 and portrait prints of popular actors *yakusha-e 役者絵 and by keeping a close relationship with the *kabuki 歌舞伎 world. The artists of theatrical pictures had to be well versed in the various conventions of kabuki because the work had to be prepared as soon as the program and the cast were decided, and sold in the theater at the performances. Their work included paintings on the billboards kanban-e 看板絵, programs banzuke-e 番付絵, and pin up portraits.
The founder of the school, Torii Kiyomoto 鳥居清元 (1645?-1702), was originally a kabuki actor, but started to paint billboards in around 1690. The first master of the school, Kiyonobu 清信 (1664-1729) and the second master Kiyomasu 清倍 (act. early 18th century) produced many excellent tan-e 丹絵 prints of beautiful women *bijinga 美人画 in addition to kabuki pictures. They invented the style of employing exaggerated deformation, represented by hyōtan ashi 瓢箪足 (gourd-shaped-foot), and wavy lines with thick-and-thin accents, called mimizugaki 蚯蚓描 (earthworm). These techniques were well-suited for depicting actors playing the rough male roles in dramatic poses aragoto 荒事. This style became a characteristic of the Torii school, and is found in kabuki posters even now.
Among many Torii-ha artists who maintained the traditional style established by these early masters of the school, the fourth master Kiyonaga 清長 (1752-1815) attracted special attention as a painter of beautiful ladies before he was obliged to become a master of the school. However, even in theatrical prints, his innovations can be found in such works as degatari-zu 出語り図, in which musicians jikata 地方 were added, and in his portraits of popular actors off stage, showing their daily lives.
Lineage of the Torii school: Kiyomoto 清元 (1645?-1702); Kiyonobu 清信(1664-1729); Kiyomasu 清倍 (?-?); Kiyomasu 2 (1706-63); Kiyomitsu 清満 (1735-85); Kiyonaga 清長 (1752-1815); Kiyomine 清峰 (Kiyomitsu 2, 1787/8-1868); Kiyomitsu 3 (1832-92); Kiyotada 清忠 4 (1875-1941); Kiyotada 5 (1900-76); Kiyomitsu 清光 (1938- ).