Tôshûsai Sharaku (active 1794-95)

Tōshūsai Sharaku (東洲斎写楽 ?, active 1794 - 1795) is widely considered to be one of the great masters of the woodblock printing in Japan. Little is known of him, besides his ukiyo-e prints; neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known with any certainty. His active career as a woodblock artist seems to have spanned just ten months in the mid-Edo period of Japanese history, from middle 1794 to early 1795.
The majority of these prints were portraits of actors in their kabuki or kyogen roles, and others include images of sumo wrestlers and warriors. portraits featuring close-up images of the heads of kabuki actors printed in lavish color and mica were the most highly esteemed of his works.