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Kitagawa Utamaro was a Japanese printmaker and painter, and is considered one of the greatest artists of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e).
Biographical details for Utamaro are extremely limited, and each reference gives a substantially different account.
He is known especially for his masterfully composed studies of women, known as bijinga. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects.
He started creating artworks that reflect women’s internal feelings then he became the leading artist of bijinga. He is highly rated for portraying the subtlity of emotions expressed with women’s faces by very delicate changes in the drawing lines and colours. Viewers are overwhelmed to see his passion to express all of the beauty’s life including her social status, age, character and emotion in such details within such slight facial changes.

Despite several oppression and restrictions, Utamaro kept drawing Yoshiwara, a red-light district in Edo, current Tokyo until his death. He always paid his utmost attention to women and his artworks reveals vivid livelihood, graphic description of their body and their hidden pshycho.
Nearly half of his artworks depict the life of Yoshiwara and courtesans.
His work even reached Europe in the mid 19th century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the European Impressionists, particularly with his use of partial views, with an emphasis on light and shade.

After Utamaro's death, his pupil Koikawa Shuncho continued to produce prints in his mentor's style, and took over the gō Utamaro until 1820; these are now referred to as the work of "Utamaro II".

After 1820 he changed his gō to Kitagawa Tetsugoro, and produced his subsequent work under that name.