Hosai Utagawa, Kabuki play "Yumemonogatari Katami no Ishibumi"

Kunisada III Utagawa

Utagawa Kunisada III was an ukiyo-e printmaker of the Utagawa school, specializing in yakusha-e (pictures of kabuki actors). He began studying under Utagawa Kunisada I at the age of 10, and continued under Kunisada II after their master's death. He originally signed his prints ‘Kunimasa’ or ‘Baido Kunimasa’. About 1889, he began signing his prints ‘Kunisada’, ‘Baido Kunisada’ or ‘Kochoro Kunisada’. By 1892, he was using ‘Hosai’, ‘Kochoro Hosai’, ‘Baido Hosai’, and ‘Utagawa Hosai’.