Kunishige was an active artist from 1832 to 1860, in Osaka, Japan. The widely known artist Ryusai Shigeharu had used the art name "kunishige" prior to 1826, but it is unknown if this "kunishige" was related to Shigeharu. He also was not Utagawa Kunishige or Utagawa Kunishige II, who were pupils of Toyokuni and Toyokuni II. Kunishige's prints consisted mainly of actor bust portraits, and like most Osaka printmakers, focused on chuban-size prints.
