手紙を書く女, 春章 Woman Writing a Letter, Shunsho

Katsukawa Shunshō (1726 - January 19, 1792) was a Japanese painter and printmaker in the ukiyo-e style, and the leading artist of the Katsukawa school. Shunshō studied under Miyagawa Shunsui, son and student of Miyagawa Chōshun, both equally famous and talented ukiyo-e artists. Shunshō is most well-known for introducing a new form of yakusha-e, prints depicting Kabuki actors. However, his bijinga (images of beautiful women) paintings, while less famous, are said by some scholars to be "the best in the second half of the [18th] century". Shunshō first came to Edo to study haiku and painting. He became a noted printmaker of actors with his first works dating from 1760. Though originally a member of the Torii school, he soon broke away and began his own style, which would later be dubbed the Katsukawa school. Among his students were the famous ukiyo-e artists Shunchō, Shun'ei, and Hokusai.