 His earliest known work are the illustrations to the book "Talks about Debut Plays" ("Kaomise shibai banashi", 1766).From about 1771, he began to design "yakusha-e" actor prints, which he signed with a small jar-shaped seal that appeared next to a larger one by his master; from this he earned the nickname "Kotsubo" ("small jar").During the 1770s and 1780s, most of Shunkō's prints appeared in the tall, narrow "hosoban" format.