Kobayakawa Kiyoshi was a Taisho-Showa period nanga- and nihonga-style print artist specializing in modern bijin-ga. Born in Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1896, Kobayakawa studied the nanga tradition with artist Ueda Tekko before moving to Tokyo to study nihonga painting techniques under Kiyokata Kaburagi. He began exhibiting works in 1918 with Kyodokai. However, his first major success came in 1924 with the exhibition of Okiku of Nagasaki (1924) at Teiten. 

Kobayakawa continued to paint women in "exotic" contexts based on ukiyo-e and early Christian literature. From 1930–1931, he designed and self-published six mokuhanga entitled Modern Fashionable Styles, carved by Takano Shichinosuke and printed by Ono Tomisaburo. Additional prints included Revue published by Hasegawa and modern bijin-ga published by Watanabe Shozaburo and Ensendo. After winning first prize at the 1933 Teiten exhibition for his work Taking the Evening Cool at an Inn (1933), Kobayakawa gradually shifted his focus to subjects of modern women, contemporary manners, and customs. He further exhibited with Seikokai, held a solo exhibition at Matsuzakaya department store in 1934, and featured at the 1936 follow-up exhibition in Toledo. Unlike his contemporaries, Kobayakawa strove to depict people and landscapes of the modern age, without the dreariness of nostalgia. He was keenly in tune with popular tastes, presenting the world of the Taisho-era flapper just as Kitagawa Utamaro presented the world of the courtesan. During his tenure as a professional artist, Ishikawa only produced thirteen prints, six of which were self-published and the remaining seven between Watanabe Shozaburo, Hasegawa Shoten, Takamizawa Mokuhansha, and Tanroku Gado.