Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi was a painter and Ukiyo-e printmaker who lived and worked in Edo. A student of Utagawa Toyokuni, Kuniyoshi founded his own style, which became so popular that he was often asked by men to tattoo his designs on their bodies. Kuniyoshi was particularly famous for his prints of actors, animals and illustrations of heroic episodes.