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Soga Shōhaku 曾我蕭白
Soga Shōhaku (1730–1781) has left many remarkable works that are so idiosyncratic that they are immediately recognizable as by him. Much of his biography is a mystery. We know that he was born in Kyoto but lost his parents very early. He relocated and appeared to spend some time apprenticed to painters in the provinces. He moved back to Kyoto to establish his own studio and expanded upon his repertoire. Shōhaku was active at a time when many artists unaffiliated with traditional studios emerged in Japan and had more freedom to innovate.