Hosoda Eishi

Hosoda Eishi (also Chobunsai Eish) was a Japanese painter and ukiyo-e artist. Often he is called a rival to Utamaro. But in contrast to Utamaro, Hosoda Eishi's life was easier. He was born into a high-ranking samurai family, and with the rigid Japanese class system he never had to worry how to earn his livelihood with his art.

Born into a Samurai Family
Hosoda Eishi was born into a high ranking samurai family. During the Edo period Japan had a rigid class system introduced by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598). Until the Hideyoshi 'reforms', the samurai warriors cultivated their own land. Only during war times, the samurai left their land to serve their lord as a warrior.
Hideyoshi changed this by creating the samurai class. From then on the samurai had to live in castles, permanently ready to fight in battles. To assure the samurai's livelihood, the class of farmers were obliged to annual rice contributions. The rice contribution that a samurai received depended on his rank.
An Annual Income of 500 'Koko'
Hosoda Eishi was said to have received an annual rice contribution of 500 koko, about 90,000 liters of rice, due to his samurai rank and in his position as an official court painter.
In an edict from 1591 this system of classes between peasants, samurai and merchants was declared as fixed. The affiliation to a class was declared hereditary. It was impossible to change the class into which you were born.
As the Edo period from 1603 until 1868 was an ongoing time of peace, the samurai class had nothing to do. An idle class of parasites. Historians estimates that about 8 percent of the total population during the Edo period belonged to the samurai class.
This crazy system was finally abolished in the 1870s with the Meiji restoration. Next to other reasons the abolishment of the samurai privileges lead to the famous Satsuma rebellion of 1877 under leadership by Saigo Takamori ('The Last Samurai'). (source: http://www.artelino.com/articles/hosoda-eishi.asp, 2014-09-02)