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
Sunday Best — 晴着
Not set
Woodblock print
Wife and Lamp — 夫人とランプ
Not set
Woodblock print
Woman Burning Incense - 香を焚く女
circa 1970s (this item: First edition)
Woodblock print
Young Woman Dressing
Not set
Woodblock print
Young Woman Dressing
Not set
Woodblock print
Young Woman Dressing
Not set
Woodblock print
Woman and Woman- oil painting — 女と女
Not set
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
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
Chapter 51 - Ukifune
Woodblock print
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
CH1- Kiritsubo — 桐壺
Woodblock print
Bang Bang (Ban Ban)
Woodblock print
Ukifune
Woodblock print
Lingering Dreams (Yume no ato)
Woodblock print
Kaze no Kahori — 風のかほり
Woodblock print
A Visitor — 客人
Not set
Woodblock print
Change to wear zori - strawsandals — Zori Haki-Kae
1897
Woodblock print
Hairdressing — 髪結
Not set
Woodblock print
Kitagawa Utamaro
Woodblock print
,{
Woodblock print
December — 其十二 ゆき見
1898
Woodblock print
Chapter 2 - Hahakigi
Woodblock print
Chapter 15 - Weeds
Woodblock print
Harunobu's Bathtub
Woodblock print
Paul Binnie (Binnie, Paul)
Woodblock print
No Series Kazemoyou
Woodblock print
Fragrant Breeze - 風のかほり
Woodblock print
Thoughts of the Wind - 風の想い
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Temari - Handball
Not set
Woodblock print
September — 其九 秋の庭
1898
Woodblock print
Tamomo no Mae, with Poem by Fumiya Asayasu, from the series "Ogura Versions of the One Hundred Poets (Ogura nazorae Hyakunin isshu)"
c. 1845/48
Color woodblock print; oban
Chapter 36 - Kashiwagi - 柏木
Woodblock print
Chapter 6 - Suetsumuhana
Woodblock print
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Wind Patterns - 風もよう
Woodblock print
Wind Thoughts — 風の想い
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Dozing in Tearing
1906
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.