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
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
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
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
June — 其六 菖蒲
1898
Woodblock print
Jacoulet Paul Chamorro Woman Rainbow Series Red
Woodblock print
Untitled
1878
Pleasures of the Four Seasons: Colors and Scents of Flowers, left (Shiki no asobi hana no iroka, ge)
c. 1783
Color woodblock print; left sheet of oban diptych
Steam (Yuge)
Woodblock print
Dream Patterns - 夢もよう
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Ladies and Birds
Woodblock print
Tanjaku- Poetry Card — 短冊
Not set
Woodblock print
Woman and Attendant (descriptive title)
1897
Woodblock print
Untitled (terashima-shimei)
Woodblock print
Untitled (terashima-shimei)
Woodblock print
Parody of Minamoto no Yoritomo releasing cranes at Yuigahama
c. 1805
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Hair Combing (Kamisuki)
Woodblock print
Candlelight (Rosoku no akari)
Woodblock print
No Series Koibumi Love Letter
Woodblock print
A Grudge Against Each Other
1904
Woodblock print
Embroidery — 縫い取り
Not set
Woodblock print
Lovable Girls — 撫子
Not set
Woodblock print
Hagoita- Badminte- Shuttlecock — やり羽子
Not set
Woodblock print
Picnic
1897
Woodblock print
Blue Smoke (Seien)
Woodblock print
Dream Pattern — 夢もよう
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kiyoshi-nakajima)
Woodblock print
Words of the Wind — 風ことば
Woodblock print
Drawing Tansai- sumi and light water color painting
1897
Woodblock print
February — 其二 観梅
1898
Woodblock print
Miyagawa-shuntei
1897
Woodblock print
Mosquito — 蚊やり
1897
Woodblock print
Storyville III (21/50)
Woodblock print
Ogata Gekko
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.
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.