What artist name did the ukiyo-e printmaker known as Sharaku use?

The ukiyo-e printmaker known as Sharaku used the artist name Tōshūsai Sharaku.

Tōshūsai Sharaku produced a remarkable group of actor portraits in Edo during a brief period from 1794 to 1795. His designs are known for expressive faces, dramatic poses, and an often unflattering directness that differed from idealized actor imagery.

Sharaku’s identity remains uncertain. Traditional accounts identify him as an ukiyo-e artist, but later researchers proposed that the name may have concealed another person, including the Noh actor Saitō Jūrōbei. No theory has achieved universal acceptance, so the safest historical answer is the name under which the prints were published.

The name is sometimes written Toshusai Sharaku in simplified romanization. Tōshūsai is the artist’s art-name element, while Sharaku is the better-known part. His short career produced fewer works than those of major long-lived printmakers, but his portraits became central examples of Edo-period actor art.