Katsukawa Shun'ei
Katsukawa Shun'ei was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist.
Shun'ei's real surname was Isoda, and his father was a landlord named Isoda Jirōbei.
Shun'ei belonged to the Katsukawa school of artists; his earliest work dates to 1778. He designed mainly yakusha-e portraits of kabuki actors, and began producing ōkubi-e bust portraits as early as 1791. He illustrated a seven-volume kabuki guide called Shibai kinmō zue. He also made musha-e warrior prints and prints of sumo wrestlers. In he took over as head from his teacher, Shunshō. His most prominent students were and Katsukawa Shunsen. Shun'ei and several other artists, including Utamaro and Toyokuni, were jailed and manacled for 50 days in 1804 for producing prints depicting Toyotomi Hideyoshi based on the Ehon taikōki.*
