Born in 1794 with the given name Yasugoro, Utagawa Kuniyasu was an active ukiyo-e artist until 1832, when he died at age 39. A member of the Utagawa school, he was taught by the master Tokoyuni I.

Throughout his career he illustrated about one hundred books and designed hundreds of stand-alone prints, especially of beauties bijin-ga and actors yakusha-e. Kuniyasu also went by the art names Ippōsai and Nishikawa Yasunobu. His works was so popular in his lifetime that they continued to be printed and issues after his death. His work is held in the permanent collections of several museums worldwide including the V&A, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Museum of