Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy
About This Series
Kitagawa Utamaro's "Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy" (Fujin sogaku jittai), published by Tsutaya Juzaburo around 1792-1793, is one of the two pioneering okubi-e bijin-ga cycles, together with the closely related "Ten Aspects of the Physiognomy of Women" (Fujo ninso juppon), that effectively invented the close-up half-length beauty portrait as a major genre of late-eighteenth-century ukiyo-e. The conceit organizes a roster of female types under the rubric of ninso, the popular practice of judging character from facial features and bodily comportment that had a substantial literature in late Edo Japan, and presents each woman as a physiognomic study rather than as a courtly idealization. The sheets, issued in oban tate-e format, depict the figure at half-length and at near-life scale, framed by a plain ground frequently coloured with mica that catches the light and concentrates attention on the modulation of expression. The faces, drawn with subtle variations of contour and pose, convey distinct psychological registers that earlier full-figure bijin-ga had not attempted, and the series can be read as an attempt to systematize feminine character through a comparative typological survey. The figures range across social classes from the geisha and the teahouse waitress through the housewife and the courtesan, and each sheet bears an identifying cartouche naming the physiognomic category. The series belongs to Utamaro's most influential moment of innovation under Tsutaya's patronage and was decisive for the subsequent course of bijin-ga in the 1790s. Impressions are held in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the British Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Chiba City Museum of Art, and the series figures in every major Utamaro monograph as one of his most consequential publications.
Prints in This Series (2)
Frequently Asked Questions
Kitagawa Utamaro's "Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy" (Fujin sogaku jittai), published by Tsutaya Juzaburo around 1792-1793, is one of the two pioneering okubi-e bijin-ga cycles, together with the closely related "Ten Aspects of the Physiognomy of Women" (Fujo ninso juppon), that effectively invented the close-up half-length beauty portrait as a major genre of late-eighteenth-century ukiyo-e. The conceit organizes a roster of female types under the rubric of ninso, the popular practice of judging character from facial features and bodily comportment that had a substantial literature in late Edo Japan, and presents each woman as a physiognomic study rather than as a courtly idealization. The sheets, issued in oban tate-e format, depict the figure at half-length and at near-life scale, framed by a plain ground frequently coloured with mica that catches the light and concentrates attention on the modulation of expression. The faces, drawn with subtle variations of contour and pose, convey distinct psychological registers that earlier full-figure bijin-ga had not attempted, and the series can be read as an attempt to systematize feminine character through a comparative typological survey. The figures range across social classes from the geisha and the teahouse waitress through the housewife and the courtesan, and each sheet bears an identifying cartouche naming the physiognomic category. The series belongs to Utamaro's most influential moment of innovation under Tsutaya's patronage and was decisive for the subsequent course of bijin-ga in the 1790s. Impressions are held in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the British Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Chiba City Museum of Art, and the series figures in every major Utamaro monograph as one of his most consequential publications.
The Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy series contains 1 prints, created by Kitagawa Utamaro.
The Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy series was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
We currently have 2 of 1 known prints from the Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy series indexed in our collection. Browse them all on this page.
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