Kishi (紀止)
Kishi (male, 1753±10-year of death was after 1799) was an artist of seal engraving who lived during the mid-Edo period.
His azana (adult male's nickname) were Shiki and Chukei, and his pseudonyms included Rokugan and Sangaku. His popular name was Keizo NISHIMURA. He was from Kyoto.
Brief biography
He liked to study since he was very young, and practiced calligraphy under Kanga NAGATA. He also enjoyed seal engraving. He became famous for carving five letters that mean 'benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and sincerity' on a stamp surface of a 3 sq.cm qingtian stone when he was young, and carving 1,000 letters on the face of a 5.5 cm seal in 1782. He was regarded as a leading person in the field of seal-engraving of small letters along with Kyoshu MAEKAWA. Jishu SHAKU praised his skill and presented a shichigon zekku (a Chinese poem of four lines, each of seven characters). In 1791, he held a banquet in Maruyama and more than a few hundred people came. At the banquet, he engraved the seal of 105方 and made it as "Rikikisai Inpu." There is also another Inpu "Rikikisai Inko."