Born in 1726, Katsukawa Shunshō was an ukiyo-e style painter and woodblock print artist whose oeuvre can be divided into two categories: yakusha-e (Kabuki actors prints) and bijin-ga. Shunshō first began his artistic career studying painting under masters Ko Sukoku and Miyagawa Shunsui, before enrolling at the Torii school. After several years, however, Shunshō broke away to establish his own organization: the Katsukawa printmaking school. By 1765, he was producing highly dramatic yakusha-e, pioneering his own style known as nigao-e, or "images of true likeness." Focusing on the actor rather than their dramatic role, Shunshō introduced a notion of individualism never before seen in the genre.

Additionally, he excelled at providing these dramatic designs in the hashira-e, or "pillar print" format. As he gained notoriety during his tenure at the Katsukawa School, Shunshō took on several pupils, including Shunchō and Shunro (later known by his professional name as Katsushika Hokusai). In 1780, Shunshō began making the transition towards bijin-ga, his early works inspired by Suzuki Harunobu. Such portrayals feature plump, pear-shaped beauties of Edo, however as he developed his own style these beauties became slender and more refined. Today such prints are regarded by many collectors and scholars as paragons of late eighteenth-century bijin-ga.