Sharaku is perhaps an unusual example among the world's great artists: he left a large number of masterpieces but the dates of his birth and death and details of his carrer are buried in obscurity. Unconfirmed reports state that he started out as a Noh actor employed by the lord of Awa province, and was active as a Ukiyo-e artist for only two years - 1794 and 1795.

Sharaku's first works were portraits of actors as they appeared on the stages of the three Kabuki theaters in Edo (Kawarazaki-za, Kiri-za and Miyako-za). His depictions have extraordinary power and the sense of reality and presence is very strong. The presumed number of Sharaku's works can be said to be about one hundred and forty, and his activity ended with portraits of actors in the Feburary performance of 1795.

In the case of Sharaku, his first works were his finest both in artistic value and in technical perfection as Ukiyo-e compositions. Rather than portraying actors as beautiful youths, however, Sharaku became eager to catch their expressions at certain key moments. He was successful in achieving this but alienated Ukiyo-e buyers who were most interested in beautiful countenances. This is often given as a reason for the brevity of his career.