Figures Prints (1744)
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
Ôtsu-e Figure: Demon Converted to Buddhism (Oni no nenbutsu)
Woodblock print
One Person, Six Expressions (Hitori rokumenso)
1884
Color woodblock print; oban
Picture of Taira no Tadamori Capturing the Priest of Midō Temple
c. 1884
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Oharame- female vendor (1)
Woodblock print
Emperor Nintoku looks at the houses of his people
Woodblock print
People cured at Ikaho Hotspring, Kozuke Province, 1881
Woodblock print
An Artisan’s Shop, from the album The Mist of Sandara (Sandara kasumi)
1798
Color woodblock print; album plate
Traveler on Horseback under Bloomed Cherry Tree
1790s
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
![Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7861e903-25d0-c779-7382-7055de763691/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)"
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
Geisha Standing on the Bank of the Sumida River (from the series People Who Like the Latest Fashions and Manners)
early 1830s
color woodblock print
Moritsuna Holding a Knife in his Mouth and Strangling the Fisherman Todayu
Woodblock print
Lantern Maker (Chôchinya), Taishô period, dated 1926
1926
Woodblock print
A Woman A
Contemporary - Circa 1968
Woodblock print
Genji Woman II
1968
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Act Five from the series Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chûshingura: Go danme), Late Edo period, circa 1801-1802
Woodblock print
Hagoromo
Contemporary - 1969
Woodblock print
Genji Woman B
1981
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Benten (One of the Seven Gods of Happiness)
Contemporary - 1968
Woodblock print
Chushingura I 8/50
1967
Woodblock print
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)
Woodblock print
Mosquito Net (Kaya), from the series Model Young Women Woven in Mist (Kasumi-ori musume hinagata), Late Edo period, circa 1794-1795
Woodblock print
Five, Hinazō
early summer 1922
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Rome Joshua (b. 1953 )
1991
Woodblock print
Lord and Lady Ashiya I
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Farming
Woodblock print
Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)
Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896
Color woodblock print, oban triptych
Welcome (Kangei), frontispiece illustration from the literary magazine Bungei kurabu 10, no. 10
Woodblock print
![Untitled [Two women] by Kajita Hanko](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135758.jpg)
Untitled [Two women]
19th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
The Tattoo, Jaluit (Le Tatouage, Jaluit)
1935
Color woodblock print
Farmers at Rest
休む農夫たち
c. 1932
Color woodblock print
Memories of Long Ago, Palau (Souvenirs d'Autrefois, Palau)
1948
Color woodblock print
Sojo Henjo, from the series "One Hundred Satirical Poems (Kyoka neboke hyakushu)"
19th century
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku
katsushika-hokusai
Woodblock print
Heroine Toragozin in SOGA
Woodblock print
Tinkle of a Bell (Suzu no ne), from the series "Ten Types of Female Nudes (Rajo jusshu)"
1935
Color woodblock print
Youth
Woodblock print
Tatsumi, Shimura
1953
Woodblock print
Hiraga Nyüdö
Woodblock print
Untitled (yoshimune-arai)
Woodblock print
Untitled (yoshimune-arai)
Woodblock print
The Chest Containing Various Teachings (Kyokun zonagamochi)
1784
Woodblock-printed book; 5 vols.
Untitled (yoshimune-arai)
Woodblock print
surimono (?) / diptych print
Woodblock print
Yorozuya Tokuzaemon
Woodblock print
Genji Monogatari
Woodblock print
Herakles
Shōwa period, dated 1965?
Woodblock print; ink on paper with signature reading "Hideo Hagiwara"
Yoshida Tsukasa (son of Toshi)
Not set
Woodblock print
Slovenly (Shidaranasaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"
1888
Color woodblock print; oban
After Yamamura, Toyonari
Woodblock print
Nichiren Shonin, from the series Mantai Suriutsuchi No Uchi
1937
Woodblock print
Haori- Japanese Formal Coat
Not set
Woodblock print
Happy Time
134/150, 2006
Woodblock print
Courtly event modeled on the Lanting Gathering
c. 1801/07
Color woodblock print; ebangire, surimono
diptych print
Woodblock print
Ferryboat
c. 1798
Color woodblock print
Bored
Woodblock print
Ikio
Not set
Woodblock print
Lipstick- Kuchibeni
Not set
Woodblock print
Untitled (yoshimune-arai)
Woodblock print
Once Upon a Time (Mukashi mukashi)
Woodblock print
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 Torii Kotondo 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 1744 prints tagged with figures, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.