Portraits Prints (619)
Portrait prints in the Japanese woodblock tradition encompass a wide range of approaches, from the actor portraits (yakusha-e) of the Edo period to the contemplative character studies of modern sosaku-hanga. Unlike Western portraiture's emphasis on individual likeness, Japanese print portraits often balance personal identity with typological representation, using costume, pose, and setting to convey social role alongside individual character. The yakusha-e genre, depicting kabuki actors in famous roles, was one of ukiyo-e's most commercially successful categories. Sharaku's dramatically expressive actor portraits of 1794-95, produced during a single ten-month period, remain among the most studied works in the print tradition. Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, and other nineteenth-century artists continued to develop the format, creating portraits that documented the star system of Edo-period theater. Modern portrait prints moved toward psychological depth and artistic individuality. Onchi Koshiro's portrait series of fellow artists pioneered abstract-inflected portraiture in the sosaku-hanga movement. Shin-hanga portraits, particularly Ito Shinsui's studies of women, achieved a synthesis of Western modeling techniques and Japanese aesthetic restraint. Contemporary print portraiture continues to explore the tension between representation and abstraction that has characterized the genre throughout its history.
Artists Known for Portraits
Head of a Girl
1942
Color woodblock print
Portrait of Onchi Koshiro
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Boy
1961
Woodblock print
Three-quarter length portrait of a bijin beside a river
Not set
Woodblock print
Portrait of Osan and Mohei
1941
Woodblock print
Mica Ground Bijin Bust
Woodblock print
Memorial Portrait of the Actor Segawa Kikunojo V
1832
Color woodblock print; oban
Portrait of a Boy
1927
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Boy (Kodomo), Shôwa period, dated 1927
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon
1984
Woodblock print
Bust Portrait Bando Tomisaburo V as Matsukaze- Design no 148
1994
Woodblock print
Onoe Baiko VII as Mokuzume 七世尾上梅幸の田熊娘藻女 / Bust portraits IV (Design 6) 第四期大首絵シリーズの６
October 1984
Woodblock print
Onoe Baiko VII as Masaoka 七世尾上梅幸の乳人政岡 / Bust portraits VIII (Design 4) 第八期大首絵シリーズの４
October 1990
Woodblock print
The Actor Nakamura Utaemon VI as Tonase in Kanadehon Chushingura / Okubi-e (Bust Portraits, Series IV)
March 1983
Woodblock print
Bando Tamasaburo V as Agemaki of the Miuraya 五世坂東玉三郎の三浦屋揚巻 / Okubie (Bust Portraits, Series III)
1983
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Kimono — 着物の婦人像
Not set
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Kimono — 着物の婦人像
Not set
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Kimono — 着物の婦人像
Not set
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Woman
1915
Woodblock print
Head of Moon Goddess
Woodblock print
Bijin Bust
Woodblock print
Head of a Man
Mid-20th century
Fabrics and silkscreen
Head of a Woman
20th century
Color woodblock print
Head of Christ
20th century
Pastel
Head of Kwannon
Woodblock print
Portrait of the Poet Hagiwara Sakutaro
萩原朔太郎像
1943
Color woodblock print
Portrait of the Artist Onchi Kôshirô, Shôwa period, dated 1956
Woodblock print
Portrait of Yamada Kosaku
Woodblock print
Memorial portrait (Shini-e) of Nakamura Utaemon IV
Woodblock print
Portrait of James A. Michener
Woodblock print
Kabuki Actor Portrait, Taishô period, circa 1922-1924
Woodblock print
Portrait of the Actor Nakamura Ganjiro I as Kamiya Jihei in the play Shinju ten no Amijima (The Love Suicides at Amijima)
c. 1922
Color woodblock print; oban
(Title unknown) Portrait of a Girl
1916
Woodblock print
Womans Portrait
Woodblock print
Portrait of Actor Nakamura Kichiemon
1947
Woodblock print
Portrait of Hinatsu Konosuke (1890–1971)
Woodblock print
Portrait of Lafcadio Hearn
1953
Woodblock print
Portrait of Mr. Fritz W. Bilfinger
Woodblock print
Portrait of Mrs. Fritz W. Bilfinger
Woodblock print
Portrait of Munakata Shikô (1905-1975)
1968
Woodblock print
Portrait of Munakata Shiko
Woodblock print
Portrait of Nakamura Kichiemon, Kabuki Actor
1947
Color woodblock print
Portrait of Shiga Naoya
1967
Woodblock print
Portrait of the Artist Onchi Kôshirô
1956
Woodblock print
Profile of Young Girl in Kimono
1957
Woodblock print
Waitress with a Red Tray (Portrait of Onao, a Maid at the Matsuyoshi Inn, Kyoto)
1920
Woodblock print
![Woman after a Bath [Portrait of Kodaira Tomi] by Hashiguchi Goyo](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/b1e5a024-a7d2-2547-17b0-b81baad38073/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Woman after a Bath [Portrait of Kodaira Tomi]
1920
Color woodblock print
Young Woman Applying Rouge (Portrait of Chiyofuku, a Maiko of Gion, Kyoto)
1920
Color woodblock print with mica
Head of the Hydrangea Mansion — あぢさい舎主人像
circa 1930-1960
Woodblock print
Daisho Head of Woman (Album leaf)
1961
Woodblock print
Portrait of Munakata Shikô (1905-1975), Shôwa period, dated 1968
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Portrait of Shiko Munakata
1968
Woodblock print
Self Portrait
20th century
Woodblock print; ink on paper
Self-Portrait with Empire State Building
1959
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Woman
1945
Color woodblock print
Author of Ice Isle (Hyötö): Portrait of Hagiwara Sakutarö
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Poet
1955
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Portrait of a Poet, Inner Image
1947
Color woodblock print
Portrait of Hartnett
Woodblock print
Portrait of Koshiro Onchi
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Portrait prints in the Japanese woodblock tradition encompass a wide range of approaches, from the actor portraits (yakusha-e) of the Edo period to the contemplative character studies of modern sosaku-hanga. Unlike Western portraiture's emphasis on individual likeness, Japanese print portraits often balance personal identity with typological representation, using costume, pose, and setting to convey social role alongside individual character.
Ogata Gekko, Jun'ichiro Sekino, and Paul Jacoulet are among the artists most associated with portraits in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 619 prints tagged with portraits, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.