SHUNKŌSAI Hokushū / 春好斎北洲

Ukiyo-e printmrker. Owen of a paper store in Osaka; said to have been a pupil of Hokusai; known to have studied under Shokosai Hambei. All his prints associated with Osaka; in his time the leading Osaka designer of actor prints, especially of the okubi-e format, setting the style for such prints. Boldly drawn in a somewhat tight, formal style;good colorist, of great technical skill. Also illustrated many books, the earliest of which, History of the Forty-seven Ronin, was published in Edo in 1808.

Roberts, Laurance, P. "A Dictionary of Japanese Artists", John Weatherhill Inc., New York, 1980, p. 49