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
Portrait of Mr. Tsuruzo Ishii (Test Print)
1948
Woodblock print
Portrait of Mrs. Onchi (Nobuo)
Woodblock print
Portrait of Poet Hagiwara Sakutarō
posthumous edition dated 1957 (original dated 1943)
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Portrait of Poet Hagiwara Sakutarô (posthumous edition 1957), Shôwa period, posthumous edition dated 1957 (original dated 1943)
Woodblock print
Portrait of the Poet Hagiwara Sakutaro (1886–1942), Author of "Ice Island"
1943 (memorial edition printed in 1955)
Color woodblock print
Portrait of the Poet Hagiwara Sakutaro (1886–1942), Author of “Ice Island,” 1943
1943
Color woodblock print
Sketch for the print "Portrait of Yamada Kosaku"
1938
Pastel on Japanese paper (mitsumata fiber), graphite
Portrait of a Girl with Accompanying Poem
1984
Woodblock print
Portrait of James Michner
1959
Woodcut print; ink on paper
Portrait Print of James A. Michener (Under drawing)
Woodblock print
Self-Portrait
1966
Woodcut print; ink on paper
Portrait of Nakamura Kichiemon
1947
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
![Untitled [portrait of a boy] by Umetaro Azechi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/136025.jpg)
Untitled [portrait of a boy]
mid–20th century
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Nagayo Yoshiro sensei zo (Portrait of Nagayo Yoshiro)
Woodblock print
Portrait of a Girl
20th century
Woodblock print
Portrait of the novelist A. Nagayo
Woodblock print
Self-Portrait: At the time of Repatriation Manchukuo
Woodblock print
Portrait of Fukuchi Gen'ichirô, from the series Instructive Guide for Fixing One's Aim and Pressing On (Kyôdô Risshi-ki), Meiji period, dated 1886
Woodblock print
TWO WOMEN AND A YOUNG BOY HOLDING A PRINT (PORTRAIT OF A MAN)
Woodblock print
Portrait of a woman
Woodblock print
![Karhu [Self-portrait] by Clifton Karhu](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/32010.jpg)
Karhu [Self-portrait]
1980
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Ishiwaka Tosuke Sadatomo under a Hail of Arrows Holding the Severed Head of His Enemy
Woodblock print
Memorial Portrait of Iwai Hanshirō VI
1836, 4th month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)
Woodblock print
Rome Joshua (b. 1953 )
1991
Woodblock print
Kumadori II
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Five, Hinazō
early summer 1922
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Eyes, Hitomi, no. 4 from the series Modern Styles of Makeup
1/1931
Woodblock print
Nichiren Shonin, from the series Mantai Suriutsuchi No Uchi
1937
Woodblock print
Memories of Long Ago, Palau (Souvenirs d'Autrefois, Palau)
1948
Color woodblock print
Sai Jinhua from China
Woodblock print
Sawamura Sojiro as Narihira Reizo
Woodblock print
The Jades, China (Les Jades, Chine)
1940
Color woodblock print
Face
1964
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Onnagata in Black Looking to Lower Left, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922
Woodblock print
TotalCount
1987
Woodblock print
Peter
1912
Color woodcut
The Tattoo, Jaluit (Le Tatouage, Jaluit)
1935
Color woodblock print
Japanese Art Open Database
Not set
Woodblock print
Unpei - Plate No 125
Not set
Woodblock print
Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)
Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896
Color woodblock print, oban triptych
Mirror, from the series "Eight Women of Modern Times (Imayo fujin hattai no uchi)"
1929
Color woodblock print; edition 12/80
Yoshida Tsukasa (son of Toshi)
Not set
Woodblock print
The Pearls (Les Perles)
1950
Color woodblock print
An00380898 001 L
Woodblock print
Kataoka Nizaemon XI in the role of Kakiemon
Woodblock print
Yang Kuei Fei
1978
Color woodblock print
Onnagata Looking to Lower Right, Taishô period, circa 1920-1922
Woodblock print
Yoshida-hiroshi
1933
Woodblock print
Môri ?, from the series Mirror of Famous Generals of Great Japan (Dai nihon meishô kagami)
Woodblock print
Lipstick - 口紅
c. 1980 (this item: First edition)
Woodblock print
Ohta Masamitsu (Ota)
Woodblock print
Lipstick- Kuchibeni
Not set
Woodblock print
Bertha Lum
1909
Woodblock print
Asai Kiyoshi
Woodblock print
Sojo Henjo, from the series "One Hundred Satirical Poems (Kyoka neboke hyakushu)"
19th century
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku
Yorozuya Tokuzaemon
Woodblock print
Umegawa (Umegawa from the play Meido no hikyaku)
1923
Color woodblock print
Elizabeth Keith
Woodblock print
White Hat — 白い帽子
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.