"The Lovers Mikkatsu and Akane-ya Hanschichi" is a [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) print by Kitagawa Utamaro, created during the Edo period. This work demonstrates the artist's distinctive approach to [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) and women through the medium of Japanese woodblock printing.
Utamaro was the greatest master of bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women), known for his psychologically nuanced close-up portraits that revealed individual character beneath idealized beauty.
This print represents Kitagawa Utamaro's contribution to the ukiyo-e tradition during the Edo period. As with all works by this artist, it reflects both individual artistic vision and the broader cultural moment in which it was created. For collectors and admirers of Japanese printmaking, it offers a window into the sophisticated aesthetic world that produced some of the most beloved images in art history.
![A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") by Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ed82be98-8a83-4163-ccc4-e2f7210cce55/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
c. 1794/95
Color woodblock print; oban
c. 1793
color woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
The Lovers Mikkatsu and Akane-ya Hanschichi was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
The Lovers Mikkatsu and Akane-ya Hanschichi depicts bijin-ga and shunga.
