While Edo/Tokyo was the dominant center of woodblock print production, Osaka was an important regional production center focusing on the Osaka theater. Osaka actor prints (kamigata-e) took on a different, smaller (chūban-size) and less spectacular, appearance than those produced in Edo/Tokyo. While Edo audiences demanded their fire and brimstone, Osaka kabuki patrons craved intricate, heartrending plots.

Kawasaki Kyosen (1841-1899) the son of Yoshitaki and a print designer himself, provides a glimpse into the start of the design process in his account of the Osaka print making process, as follows:

In those days, certain Osaka publishers set out to the theaters on opening day with the artists who drew actors’ likenesses. The dividers were removed from four or five boxes right in the middle of the floor section of the theater and spread with rugs. Tables were set up with brushes and paper, and all was made ready to sketch the happenings on stage. The artist sat in the middle, with the proprietor of the publishing house and his clerks alongside. Besides them, some first-class female entertainers managed the food and drink, so things were quite lively. This was a form of promotion, as much as to say that actor prints were being designed for this performance.¹ – an account by the artist’s son, Kawasaki Kyosen (1841-1899)