Bijin-ga Prints (1154)
Bijin-ga — literally "pictures of beautiful people" — is one of the foundational genres of Japanese woodblock printmaking. The tradition dates to the earliest days of ukiyo-e, when artists like Hishikawa Moronobu and later Kitagawa Utamaro elevated portrayals of women from simple illustrations to sophisticated studies of beauty, fashion, and personality. Utamaro's bust portraits of the 1790s, which isolated individual faces against plain backgrounds, were revolutionary in their psychological depth and compositional daring. His contemporaries Chobunsai Eishi and Torii Kiyonaga developed complementary approaches, emphasizing graceful full-length figures in elaborate settings. The genre documented the changing ideals of feminine beauty across centuries, from the rounded features favored in the Edo period to the elongated elegance of the Meiji era. The shin-hanga revival of the early twentieth century produced a final flowering of bijin-ga, with artists like Ito Shinsui, Torii Kotondo, and Hashiguchi Goyo creating some of the genre's most refined works. These artists brought Western-influenced light and shadow to traditional subjects, producing prints that are among the most sought-after in the Japanese print market today. Bijin-ga prints are prized for their technical virtuosity, particularly the rendering of fabric patterns, hair arrangements, and subtle skin tones achieved through multiple woodblock impressions.
Artists Known for Bijin-ga
Woman with Parasol
1915
Color woodblock print
A dancing girl, maiko, in winter
Woodblock print
Maiko — 舞妓の図
Woodblock print
Woman in Blue Kimono
1915
Color woodblock print
Maiko in Snow
舞妓雪
Woodblock print
Woman in a Long Undergarment
長襦袢の女
1920
Color woodblock print
Woman in Bagdad
1954
Color woodblock print
Maiko Beach near Kobe
舞子の浜
c. 1922
Lithograph
Ten Types of Female Nudes: Bored (Rajo jusshu: Tsurezure) title on original tissue paper cover
Woodblock print
Maiko, Kyoto
舞妓 京都
1961
Color woodblock print
Beauty Under Umbrella
傘を差す美人
c. 1910
Color woodblock print
Woman at Bath
湯浴みする女
c. 1933
Color woodblock print
Geisha
芸者
1915
Color woodblock print
A beauty in Shintomi-cho district
Woodblock print
Bijin in Black Kimono (1)
Woodblock print
Bijin in Red and Black Kimono (1)
Woodblock print
Bijin and Peony in Mid-Winter - 寒牡丹美人娘図
Woodblock print
Bijin with Hair Ornament (1)
Woodblock print
Two Bijin and Parasol
Woodblock print
Bijin in Kimono — 和服美人図
Not set
Woodblock print
Bijin on red seat
1960
Woodblock print
![Five Figures of Modern Beauties: Playing Battledore and Shuttlecock (Gendai Bijin Fuzoku Gotai: Oibane [hagoita?]) by Shimura Tatsumi](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/2f5ba4099713181f9c0b7569fd92899f.jpg)
Five Figures of Modern Beauties: Playing Battledore and Shuttlecock (Gendai Bijin Fuzoku Gotai: Oibane [hagoita?])
1953
Woodblock print
Maiko
1977
Woodblock print
Unknown Bijin 2
Not set
Woodblock print
KYO NO MAIKO (Maiko of Kyoto)
Woodblock print
Maiko Girl
Woodblock print
![Light Snow, Customs of Young Women: Beauty of the Fifteenth Year of Meiji [1882] (Meiji Jugonen Koro no Fuzoku) by Kaburaki Kiyokata](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/dd121e23b3aa0e77864754bb13fc0cc9.jpg)
Light Snow, Customs of Young Women: Beauty of the Fifteenth Year of Meiji [1882] (Meiji Jugonen Koro no Fuzoku)
1925
Woodblock print
Three-quarter length portrait of a bijin beside a river
Not set
Woodblock print
<i>Bijin meisho awase</i> (Beauties at Famous Places)
1897
Woman Holding a Blue Sash
1923
Woodblock print
Young Woman with Fan (Descriptive Title)
c. 1910
Woodblock print
Beauty at bath
Not dated
Woodblock print
Beauty on veranda, in the style of Harunobu
Not dated (1930's)
Woodblock print
Woman in Red (Kōi no onna)
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Moga (Modern) Girl
c. 1930
Woodblock print
Moga (Modern) Girl Dancing in a Flapper Style Dress
c. 1930
Drawing
Woman in a Boat — 舟の中
Not set
Woodblock print
Bijin in Snow
Woodblock print
Mica Ground Bijin Bust
Woodblock print
Omando: Ochie, Onokichi of the Matsuya, from the series Female Geisha Section of the Yoshiwara Niwaka Festival (Seiro niwaka onna geisha no bu) (Omando, Matsuya uchi Ochie, Onokichi)
1783
Color woodblock print; oban
Okubi-e Painting of a Bijin
Woodblock print
Sleeping Genroku bijin
Woodblock print
Woman in Snow (Sagi musume), Taishô period,
Woodblock print
Maiko Beach — 舞子の濱
Woodblock print
Maiko Sea Shore or Sailboats at Sunset
Woodblock print
WOMAN HOLDING BASKET
Woodblock print
Hanamurasaki of the Tamaya, (kamuro:) Shirabe, Teriha, Flowers from the series Snow, Moon and Flowers in Yoshiwara (Seiro setsugekka) (Tamaya uchi Hanamurasaki, Shirabe, Teriha)
1793
Color woodblock print; oban
No Series Maiko
Woodblock print
No Series Maiko
Woodblock print
No Series A Maiko Powdering Her Face
Woodblock print
Maiko
c. 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Courtesan Shirato of the Teahouse Hashimoto-ya
1886
Woodblock print
Nakamura Utaemon as the courtesan Yatsuhashi
1954
Woodblock print
Five Figures of Modern Beauties: Cherry Blossoms Blizzard (Gendai Bijin Fuzoku Gotai: Hana Fubuki)
1953
Woodblock print
Beauty Sketching in a Field
1903
Woodblock print
Nakamura Utaemon in a Courtesan Role
1989
Woodblock print
A Bijin Imagining Shinobazu Pond — 美人不忍池を望む
1895
Woodblock print
Beauty Looking at Shinobazu Pond
description
Woodblock print
Bijin in the Snow- silk painting
Not set
Woodblock print
Bijin in a boat with a Biwa
1897
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Bijin-ga — literally "pictures of beautiful people" — is one of the foundational genres of Japanese woodblock printmaking. The tradition dates to the earliest days of ukiyo-e, when artists like Hishikawa Moronobu and later Kitagawa Utamaro elevated portrayals of women from simple illustrations to sophisticated studies of beauty, fashion, and personality.
Torii Kotondo, Hashiguchi Goyo, and Ito Shinsui are among the artists most associated with bijin-ga in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 1154 prints tagged with bijin-ga, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.