1000 Museums

Katsushika Ōi was the daughter of famed artist Katsushika Hokusai and Kotome, his second wife. Ōi first learned her craft as her father’s apprentice and later studied under another artist to hone her skill. In 1824 she married fellow artist Minamizawa Tomei but they divorced within three years, it is rumored that she laughed at his work and said it was terrible.

Ōi returned to her father’s studio where she cared for him after her mother’s death, created her own work, and was his studio assistant. She never remarried. Her sisters had also been Hokusai’s assistants but once they married they did not have time to continue their art. Hokusai felt that Ōi painted beautiful women more skillfully than he did. The two were known for their playful humor, camraderie, and occasional collaboration. Very few examples of her work are known to exist.