Yanagisawa Kien

His father was one of the most important members of the Yanagisawa clan, with princely seat at Kōriyama Castle.

He began his training with artists of the Kanō school, but became a disciple of Watanabe Shūseki [ja], who practiced the Nagasaki-e style of woodcut art.

He also became a follower of the Zen monks of the Ōbaku school of Buddhism, which may have prompted him to study Chinese painting from the Yuan and Ming dynasties and familiarize himself with the Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden.

In 1727, due to inheritance problems, he moved to the family estates in Kōriyama, took charge of some of his relatives' financial affairs, and remained there until his death.

From the age of fifteen, he was an essayist and is said to have excelled at all sixteen of the subjects that comprised a classical education; including calligraphy, poetry and the tea ceremony.