Bijin-ga Prints (1084)

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

Hashiguchi Goyo

橋口五葉

1880–1921

Torii Kotondo

鳥居言人

1900–1976

Takehisa Yumeji

竹久夢二

1884–1934

Ito Shinsui

伊東深水

1898–1972

Toyohara Chikanobu

豊原周延

1838–1912

Miyagawa Shuntei

宮川春汀

Untitled (hirezaki-eiho)

Woodblock print

Kasumi Teshigawara arranging chrysanthemums — 菊を活ける勅使ヶ原霞女史

Woodblock print

The Wife's Surprise (Tsumatachi no saku), from the series "The Tale of the Auklet (Uto Hanga-kan)"

1938

1929

Woodblock print

Kiss — くちづけ

Not set

Woodblock print

Hair - 髪

circa 1970s (this item: First edition)

Woodblock print

もえぎ色の

Woodblock print

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

Kimono — 着物

1898

Woodblock print

Go- Japanese Game — 囲碁

Not set

Woodblock print

Print 1

Woodblock print

Woman Teaching Embroidery (descriptive title)

1897

Woodblock print

Woman Calendar Big, September Afternoon (27/50)

Woodblock print

Behind the Curtain (1)

Woodblock print

Fashionable Courageous Flowers

1860, 2nd lunar month

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)

Woodblock print

After A Bath — 湯上がり

1898

Woodblock print

Aunt over there — Muko no Obasan

1896

Woodblock print

Woman Calendar (1/10)

Woodblock print

triptych print

Woodblock print

Bang Bang (Ban Ban)

Woodblock print

Lingering Dreams (Yume no ato)

Woodblock print

Related Subjects

Abstract Airport Animals Architecture Autumn Foliage Birds & Flowers Boats & Ships Bridges

Frequently Asked Questions

Hashiguchi Goyo, Torii Kotondo, and Takehisa Yumeji 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 1084 prints tagged with bijin-ga, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.