Figures Prints (1669)
Figure compositions are among the most diverse subjects in Japanese printmaking, encompassing everything from intimate domestic scenes to grand historical narratives. The tradition spans the full history of ukiyo-e, from Moronobu's pioneering single-sheet prints of the 1670s to contemporary figure studies that blend traditional techniques with modern sensibilities. In the ukiyo-e era, figure prints often depicted courtesans, actors, and townspeople of Edo's pleasure quarters, capturing the fashions, gestures, and social dynamics of urban life. The shin-hanga movement brought a more contemplative approach, with artists like Ito Shinsui creating elegant figure studies that emphasized mood and atmosphere over narrative action. Sosaku-hanga artists pursued more experimental figure work, from Onchi Koshiro's abstract portraits to Sekino Jun'ichiro's bold character studies. Figure prints in the Japanese tradition are notable for their attention to textile patterns, body language, and the suggestion of inner life through subtle compositional choices. Whether depicting a single standing figure or a complex multi-figure narrative, these works reveal the printmaker's skill in translating human presence into the woodblock medium.
Artists Known for Figures
One of the Officers of the Warship Akagi ...
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Okano Kinemon Kanehide 岡野金右衛門包秀 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Embroiderer of Chinese embroidery
Woodblock print
Gunner Private First Class Sawagashira Unosuke …
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kanzaki Yogoro Noriyasu 神崎与五郎則休 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Akechi Samanosuke
1868, 10th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fifth Act
1860, 4th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Matsubara Tachū
second half 1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Old Man Nishimura Seated and Holding the Hochi Newspaper
1875
Woodblock print
Magic Carpet
1912
Color woodcut
Chiyono Kotobuki (A Thousand Years of Long Life)
1863
Drawing of a Traveling Couple
Woodblock print
Harimaze
Woodblock print
Chiyoda no o-oku
Woodblock print
Kenmu Era, from
Woodblock print
Kagoshima senso ki (Record of the war in Kagoshima)
Woodblock print
Kagoshima boto no zu
Woodblock print
Preparatory Drawing for a Print Of Japanese Emperors and Empresses
Woodblock print
triptych print
Woodblock print
Yokokawa Kanbei Munetoshi 横川勘平宗利 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Climbing Rope (Zairu)
1957
Color woodblock print; edition 91/100
Mount Ishizuchi
1936
Color woodblock print
Mountaineer and skier
20th century
Color woodblock print
Relaxing on the banks of the Sumidagawa
Woodblock print
Hide and seek
Woodblock print
Woman Representing Good Fortune
1753–1806
color woodblock print
Women Drawing Strings for Prizes, right panel of a triptych
Woodblock print
Kimura Okaemon Sadayuki 木村岡右衛門貞行 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
No Series Tipsy
Woodblock print
Actors Ōtani Tomoemon V as Sadato and Bandō Matsujirō as his daughter Okimi
1865, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Denzaemon Chiba with severed head
description
Woodblock print
Genzanmi Yorimasa and I no Hayata
October 1878
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Negoro no Komitsucha
1868, 9th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Preparatory drawing of Sumoto Sakyō
1874
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Preparatory drawing of Sakuma Dennai
circa 1868
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Oroku
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
The Boatman Zhang Heng
1868, 8th lunar month
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
A comic picture titled Kyosai hyakukyo, doke hyakumamben, triptych, 1864
Woodblock print
Figures from Ôtsu-e Paintings of the Floating World in a Drunken Stupor (Ukiyo-e Ôtsu no renchû suimin no zu)
Woodblock print
Oishi and Tarasaka
Woodblock print
Kyōsai's Idle Drawings
1881
Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper
Takaragi
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Dolls
Woodblock print
print / album
Woodblock print
UTAGAWA Chikamaro (KAWANABE Kyosai)
Woodblock print
Wakato
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Uto monogatari Saginuma Taro Etchu Tateyama jigoku o hiru zu
Woodblock print
Ceremony of proclaiming the constitution, triptych, 1889
Woodblock print
No. 33, from
Woodblock print
Session of the National Diet
1890 (Meiji 23)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and color on paper
Shunkan in exile
Woodblock print
Triptych: Great Victory for the Japanese Army at P'yōng Yang (Nichigun Heijō taisho no zu)
Meiji period, dated 1894
Woodblock printed "ōban"-sized triptych; ink and color on paper
Cavalryman Higashibata Rinpei ...
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Infantryman Fujita Ukichi …
June 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kogo in her hermitage at Sagano
Woodblock print
Yamauba Holding Chestnuts while Kintarô Reaches for Them
Woodblock print
Kurokumo Ōji
1867
11 p.m., from the series "Twenty-Four Hours at Shinyanagi (Shinyanagi nijuyoji)"
1880
Color woodblock print
Hohodemi no Mikoto
1867
Fujinami Yukarinosuke
1867
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Figure compositions are among the most diverse subjects in Japanese printmaking, encompassing everything from intimate domestic scenes to grand historical narratives. The tradition spans the full history of ukiyo-e, from Moronobu's pioneering single-sheet prints of the 1670s to contemporary figure studies that blend traditional techniques with modern sensibilities.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Ogata Gekko, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi are among the artists most associated with figures in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 1669 prints tagged with figures, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.