Actor Mimasu Tokujirō as an Onnagata (female role), Standing Near a Winding Stream

Katsukawa Shunkō (1743–1812; place of birth unknown) was among the earliest and most prominent disciples of Katsukawa Shunshō, and he distinguished himself within the Katsukawa school primarily through actor prints. Like his teacher, he produced a large number of narrow-format yakusha-e (actor portraits), but he also advanced Shunshō’s innovation of depicting only the upper body. Shunko is credited with developing the ōkubi-e (large-head portrait) format before the better-known works of Sharaku. This new approach was soon adapted by Kitagawa Utamaro in the realm of bijinga (pictures of beauties), where the format became firmly established.
During the period when Katsushika Hokusai was training in the Katsukawa school under the name Shunrō, Shunko was his senior. Contemporary accounts relate that Shunko harshly criticized Hokusai’s early works as unworthy of their master’s name—a rebuke that Hokusai later acknowledged as pivotal in his artistic development. This anecdote shows how Shunko became a turning point for later masters in developing their own artistic styles.
In addition to actor prints, Shunko also produced hand-painted beauties in the manner of Shunshō, demonstrating a consistent fidelity to his teacher’s style across genres.

This work depicts the onnagata actor Mimasu Tokujirō (1750–1812). Active primarily in Kyoto and Osaka, Tokujiro was highly regarded in his day and is recorded as having been ranked “jōjō-kichi,” one of the highest distinctions accorded to onnagata actors. The inscription “kudari” (“performing in Edo”) within the image suggests that the print represents his appearance during a performance in the Edo kabuki theaters. While some of Katsukawa Shunko’s actor prints reveal subtle departures from the manner of his teacher, Katsukawa Shunshō, this example demonstrates a close adherence to his master’s style, reflecting the fidelity with which Shunko engaged the Katsukawa school tradition.