Editing Utamaro (section)

===Apprenticeship and early work===

Sometime during his childhood Utamaro came under the tutelage of Sekien, who described his pupil as bright and devoted to art.{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=72}}  Sekien, although trained in the upper-class [[Kanō school]] of [[Japanese painting]], had become in middle age a practitioner of [[ukiyo-e]] and his art was aimed at the townspeople in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]].  His students included [[haiku]] poets and ukiyo-e artists such as [[Eishōsai Chōki]].{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|pp=72–73}}

Utamaro's first published work may be an illustration of [[eggplant]]s in the ''[[haikai]]'' poetry anthology ''Chiyo no Haru''{{efn|{{lang|ja|千代の春}} ''{{Transliteration|ja|Chiyo no haru}}'', "Eternal Spring"}} published in 1770.  His next known works appear in 1775 under the name Kitagawa Toyoaki,{{efn|{{Nihongo||北川豊章|Kitagawa Toyoaki}}; "{{lang|ja|北川豊章}}" may also read "Toyoakira".{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=74}} }}{{sfn|Marks|2012|p=76}}—the cover to a [[kabuki]] playbook entitled ''Forty-eight Famous Love Scenes''{{efn|{{Nihongo|'' Forty-eight Famous Loves Scenes'',|四十八手 恋所訳|Shijū Hatte Koi no Showake}} }} which was distributed at the Edo playhouse [[Nakamura-za]].{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=74}}  As Toyoaki, Utamaro continued as an illustrator of popular literature for the rest of the decade, and occasionally produced single-sheet ''{{Transliteration|ja|yakusha-e}}'' portraits of kabuki actors.{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=75}}

The young, ambitious publisher [[Tsutaya Jūzaburō]] enlisted Utamaro and in the autumn of 1782 the artist hosted a lavish banquet whose list of guests included artists such as Kiyonaga, [[Kitao Shigemasa]], and [[Katsukawa Shunshō]], as well as writers such as [[Ōta Nanpo]] (1749–1823)and {{Interlanguage link|Hōseidō Kisanji|ja|3=平沢常富}}. It was at this banquet that it is believed the artist first announced his new art name, ''Utamaro''. Per custom, he distributed a specially made print for the occasion, in which, before a screen bearing the names of his guests, is a self-portrait of Utamaro making a deep bow.{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=76}}

Utamaro's first work for Tsutaya appeared in a publication dated as 1783: ''The Fantastic Travels of a Playboy in the Land of Giants'',{{efn|{{Nihongo|Migi no Tōri Tashika ni Uso Shikkari Gantori-chō|右通慥而啌多雁取帳|}}{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=76}} }} a ''{{Transliteration|ja|[[kibyōshi]]}}'' picture book created in collaboration with his friend Shimizu Enjū, a writer.{{efn|{{Nihongo||志水燕十|Shimizu Enjū}} }} In the book, Tsutaya described the pair as making their debuts.{{efn|Utamaro and Enjū appeared to have worked on a previous book together during 1781: {{Nihongo|''A Short History of the Sartorial Exploits of a Great Connoisseur of Inari Machi''|身貌大通神略縁起|Minari Daitsūjin Ryakuengi}}, which Utamaro signed as "Utamaro, Dilettante of Shinobugaoka".  {{Interlanguage link|Kiyoshi Shibui|ja|3=渋井清}} suggests the publication of the work may have been delayed.{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|p=79}} }}{{sfn|Kobayashi|1982|pp=76, 79}}

At some point in the mid-1780s, probably 1783, he went to live with Tsutaya Jūzaburō. It is estimated that he lived there for approximately five years. He seems to have become a principal artist for the Tsutaya firm. Evidence of his prints for the next few years is sporadic, as he mostly produced illustrations for books of ''[[kyōka]]'' ("crazy verse"), a parody of the classical [[waka (poetry)|''waka'']] form. None of his work produced during the period 1790–1792 has survived.