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Early Life
Hishikawa Moronobu was raised in a house with a tapestry embroiderer near the entrance of Edo Bay and acquired decorative skills.

Career
Moronobu settled in Edo in the 1660s and started producing illustrated pictorial art. From the 1670s and the 1680s Moronobu began to create ukiyo-e paintings, single sheet prints, and illustrations for about 130 picture books (ehon), albums, and written texts. He was credited with developing the ukioyo-e style into an artistic, sophisticated, and independent in genre. His style of ukiyo-e is also known to have a strong sense of design and sensibility. Moronobu was primarily a painter when he moved to the new city of Edo and was the first artist to eventually sign his prints that primarily dealt with contemporary themes of the people living in Edo. He was also the first artist to produce affordable single sheet prints to the public using woodcuts as the medium. His subjects included actors, courtesans, "beautiful" women of Yoshiwara, fashion among the commoners, classical poetry and guide books, and erotica. The term ukiyo-e includes and covers paintings, prints, and in Moronobu's case his illustrations. Despite his popularity with ukiyo-e prints, his illustrations found in collaborations with other artists and in printed books are kicked off his career. In some cases Moronobu would take the images and subjects from other prints and illustrations made in Kyoto but would replace the images with his own illustrations to make it his own. A common subject Moronobu worked with was the depiction of women in their daily lives. He did this right up until the end of the 19th century, or in other words, the end of the Edo period. An example would be his contribution of illustrations for Hyankunin isshu zōsanshō (One Hundred Poets with Portraits and Commentaries). This publication produced an argument on whether is was designed for women or not. Moronobu's illustrations can also be found in The Pictorial Survey, drafted by Ochikochi Dōin. The images depicted include long military processions and travelers of all ages and stations. As he continued to do prints the subjects, scenes, colors, composition, and even his line work changed with adaptation of techniques and the audience that was interested in the current activities displayed.