Portraits Prints (592)
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
L'Attente
Woodblock print
L'Homme Accroupi, Chinois
Woodblock print
After the Bath
Woodblock print
Mosquito Net
Woodblock print
Dressing the Hair for New Years Day
Woodblock print
First Make-Up of the New Year
Woodblock print
Umegawa
Woodblock print
The Ronin Tominomori Suke'emon Masakata
Woodblock print
The Sound of the Bell
Woodblock print
First Love 2
Woodblock print
NY Portrait 2
2015
Ink and color on paper
NY Portrait 5
2015
Washi Paper with Sumi Ink
Portrait of a Beauty
1911
Sepia ink and pencil on paper
Self-portrait with Tecpatl
2020
Etching and Aquating
Steady Gaze
Color woodcut, on Japan paper
The Bird Girls (installation view)
2016-2017
Sumi-ink portrait series on paper (74 sheets)
self portrait spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art artist
Sample work 03 — figure / portrait (cedar woodblock series)
Woodblock print on washi (cedar boards)
Onchi Koshiro zo (Portrait of Onchi Koshiro) / Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection, Vol 1)
Woodblock print
Portrait of Inge Bilsinger
Woodblock print
Portrait of Koshiro Onchi
Woodblock print
Portrait of Lafcadio Hearn, Shôwa period, dated 1953
Woodblock print
Portrait of Mr. Naoya Shiga
Woodblock print
Portrait of Negro
Woodblock print
Portrait of Shiga Naoya, Shôwa period, circa 1967?
Woodblock print
Portrait of Shiko Munakata
Woodblock print
Portrait of the Artist Onchi Kôshirô, Shôwa period, dated 1956
Woodblock print
Bust portrait of an Oiran in a splendid coiffure
Woodblock print
Portrait of Okubo Toshimichi
Woodblock print
Portrait of Toyo, Matsuki Heikichi wife
Woodblock print
Bust Portrait Bando Tomisaburo V as Matsukaze- Design no 148
Woodblock print
Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon
Woodblock print
Portrait of Sphinx: Etching 2 of 6, Shôwa period, dated 1970
Woodblock print
Portrait of Sphinx: Etching 3 of 6, Shôwa period, dated 1970
Woodblock print
Portrait of Sphinx: Etching 4 of 6, Shôwa period, dated 1970
Woodblock print
Self-Portrait series — primary work
Copper plate etching on paper
Portrait of André Malraux
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Barbarian ships entering port (group portrait)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait Of a woman
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait Of Fritz Bilsinger
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait Of Hagiwara Sakutarô
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Impression of a violinist (a portrait of Suwa Nejiko (1920-2012))
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait Of Kawakami Sumio
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait of Dr. Fujikake
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait of Nagayo Yoshirô, the Shirakaba School novelist
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Self-portrait
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Self-Portrait Paper size: 26.3 x 39.7 cm., self-printed in 1953. Red seal "Tomo" bottom right.
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Actor portrait
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Actor portrait
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait of a woman
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Portrait of Lady Lilian
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Kayoi, from the series Seven Beautiful Women (Fūryū nana komachi)
Late Edo period, late 18th to early 19th century
Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Utamaro hitsu"
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 592 prints tagged with portraits, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.