Ōkubi-e

An ōkubi-e is a portrait print or painting showing only the head or the head and upper torso. Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743-1812) is generally credited with producing the first ōkubi-e. He, along with Katsukawa Shunshō, only designed ōkubi-e of kabuki actors. In the early 1780s, Kitagawa Utamaro designed the first ōkubi-e of beautiful women. The shogunate authorities banned ōkubi-e in 1800, but the ban only lasted for about eight years.

Gallery of ōkubi-e
Okubi-e Okubi-e