One of the great masters during the golden age of ukiyo-e, Sekiguchi Shinsuke, later known as Kiyonaga Torii, was a woodblock print artist born in 1752 in Uraga, Kanagawa Prefecture. After moving to the capital of Edo in 1765, Kiyonaga became a pupil of Kiyomitsu Torii, head of the Torii school. Kiyonaga was also profoundly influenced by the works of Harunobu Suzuki, Isoda Koryusai, and Nishimura Shigenaga. 

From 1781 to 1785, Kiyonaga developed a style of bijin-ga, which quickly became the preferred form of the genre for the remainder of the century: tall, elegant women of every societal stratum, engaging in gentle, yet social behavior. Such paragons of beauty and decorum propelled Kiyonaga to stardom both within the Torii school and the city of Edo. 

After the sudden death of Kiyomitsu in 1785, Kiyonaga was formally adopted into the Torii family and served as head of the school. Although he continued to produce prints of bijin-ga, after 1787, Kiyonaga began to focus more on yakusha-e, or Kabuki actor prints. From 1782-1789, he designed around thirty-four prints depicting shosagoto, actors in dancing scenes. 

He continued to serve as head of the Torii school and generate prints over the next thirteen years until retiring from active production in 1800. From then until his death, fifteen years later, Kiyonaga contented himself on drawing for himself and friends' amusement. Torii Kiyonaga died on June 28, 1815, in Edo.