Bust portrait of Actor Kataoka Ichizō I is an ukiyo-e woodblock print belonging to the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.

Kamigata-e [上方絵] is the term used to collectively describe ukiyo-e prints from Kamigata, the Osaka and Kyoto regions.

[4] While Bust Portrait of Actor Kataoka Ichizō I is an ichimai-e [一枚絵] single-sheet print, it is also the right half of a diptych.

Its partner to the left is Sadamasu's portrait of actor Arashi Tokusaburō III [嵐徳三郎] (1812-1863) as the play's hero, Iwanaga Jirōkichi [岩川次郎吉].

[6] Their rise in popularity kept pace with general interest in kabuki, and attempted to appeal to the public's curiosity about individual actors.

[6] As JAANUS notes, "the close-up range of ookubi-e allowed the designer to emphasize particular facial features, expression, make-up or poses of favorite actors in popular roles."

Utagawa Kunimasu (Sadamasu I) is credited with advancing the mature Osaka style of ōkubi-e in the chūban format, after creating his first around 1837.

[7] The print depicts actor Kataoka Ichizō I as Tetsugadake Dazaemon in the play Sekitori Senryō Nobori [関取千両幟].

[9] Sekitori Senryō Nobori [関取千両幟] by Chikamatsu Hanji was originally written for the bunraku [文楽] puppet theatre, but adapted soon after for kabuki.

[11] He officially changed his artist name to Kunimasu [國升 or 國益] in 1848, in recognition of Kunisada's accession to the title Toyokuni.

[13] Kunimasu actively supported Osaka printmaking by opening his own print design school,[11] and directly mentoring many local artists.

It was Kunisada (Toyokuni III), however, who really claimed the symbol for his school, elongating its round shape and framing the red infill with yellow.

Just as the ROM and MFA Boston disagree on the print's artist, the museums assign different dates to the piece.