Rai Itsuan 頼聿庵

頼聿庵 Rai Itsuan (1801-1856) 
Rai Itsuan was a distinguished Japanese Confucian scholar, poet, and calligrapher of the late Edo period. He was the eldest son of Rai Sanyo (1780–1832), the renowned historian, scholar, and author of Nihon Gaishi (Unofficial History of Japan). Itsuan succeeded his grandfather, Rai Shunsui, as head of the Rai family in Hiroshima and served as a Confucian scholar and instructor for the Hiroshima Domain. He also devoted himself to preserving and publishing his father's literary works. Particularly celebrated for his calligraphy, Itsuan developed a powerful, expressive, and dynamic brushwork style, especially in his later years. His bold and uninhibited calligraphy was highly regarded, sometimes even considered superior to that of his famous father. His works remain important examples of Japanese literati calligraphy from the late Edo period.