Although the majority of ukiyo-e artists were concentrated in the capital of Edo, commercial hubs such as Osaka and Kyoto produced their share of artists and schools. One such artist was Konishi Hirosada, an ukiyo-e woodblock print artist of the Osaka School during the late Edo period. He would later become one of the most talented and prolific artists to emerge from both the Osaka School and the greater Kansai region. 

Born in the Namba-Shinchi district of Osaka, Konishi's given name was Kyomaruya Seijiro. Throughout his career, however, he went by a number of aliases including Konishi, Suzuki, Hirokuni, Gosōtei, and Utagawa, to evade censorship policies enacted during the Tenpō reforms. 

As a young man, he studied under Utagawa (Sadamasu) Kunimasu before going on to produce his own prints. Specializing in yakusha-e, or actor prints, he is characterized by his unusually expressive, dramatic depiction of Kabuki performers and theatrical scenes. 

In addition to his actor prints, Konishi is also known for his diptychs, triptychs, polyptychs, and ōkubi-e (portraits of Kabuki actors limited to the neck or upper torso). Another distinguishing feature is his print dimensions, utilizing the smaller chuban format (7.5" x 10"). Konishi passed away circa 1865, at the close of the era.