Katsukawa Shunkō I

He was a student of Katsukawa Shunshō, and is generally credited with designing the first large-head actor portraits (ōkubi-e).

At 45, the right-handed Shunkō became partially paralyzed and ceased designing prints, although he continued producing paintings with his left hand.

Shunkō lived in Nihonbashi Hasegawachō in Edo (modern Tokyo) and was a student of Katsukawa Shunshō—possibly the master's first.

His earliest known work are the illustrations to the book Talks about Debut Plays (Kaomise shibai banashi, 1766).

In 1788 he began to produce bust portraits of actors, a style that was to become popular in the 1790s and has come to be associated with the works of Sharaku.