Kyoden studied under an Ukiyo-e artist, Shigetora KITAO, and debuted as an illustration painter for Kibyoshi (the illustrated book of popular tales with yellow covers in the late Edo period) under the name of Masanobu KITAO.
浮世絵師・北尾重寅に学び、草双紙（黄表紙）の挿絵画家、北尾政寅としてデビュー。