Which ukiyo-e artist created the portrait print Ōtani Oniji III as Edobe in the Role of Yakko?

Tōshūsai Sharaku created the ukiyo-e portrait Ōtani Oniji III as Edobe in the Role of Yakko.

The print portrays the kabuki actor Ōtani Oniji III in a sharply expressive pose. Sharaku became famous for presenting actors with unconventional facial expressions rather than idealizing them according to established theatrical portrait traditions.

Sharaku’s known career was remarkably brief. Most of his surviving actor prints were published in Edo during 1794 and 1795, and his identity remains uncertain. The name Tōshūsai Sharaku is generally treated as an artist name, not a securely documented biography.

The print is sometimes confused with other Sharaku portraits because he depicted many kabuki performers in similar close-up formats. Its subject, however, is specifically Ōtani Oniji III as Edobe, a role associated with the play Koi Nyōbō Somewake Tazuna.