Tsutaya Juzaburo

Tsutaya Jûzaburô is regarded as the most famous and celebrated publisher of the Edo period. His fame rests on publishing some of the most famous works of the best ukiyo-e artists of the period, including Utamaro, Sharaku, and Kitao Masanobu.

Tsutaya was born in the Yoshiwara, he chief licensed pleasure district in Edo, and his father was the owner of a brothel. As a young man he was adopted by the owner of a teashop. His youth gave him an intimate knowledge and familiarity of the pleasure district, whose themes were common in ukiyo-e art. In 1773 he opened a bookshop at the entrance to the pleasure quarter, selling the guidebooks or Yoshiwara saiken. In the following year he began publishing books, and in 1775 he published his own guide, which soon was more popular than of other publishers. In 1776 he entered into his first large-scale publishing venture. It was the production of Seirô bijin awase sugata kagami, featuring images of courtesans by artists Katsukawa Shunshô and Kitao Shigemasa. In 1782, he purchased the exclusive rights to produce Yoshiwara saiken, and moved his base of operations to the Nihonbashi area, the chief merchant district in Edo, moving again the following year to Toriabura-chô, the heart of Edo's publishing district.