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
Kataoka Gengoe Takafusa 片岡源五右衛高房 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Kimura Okaemon Sadayuki 木村岡右衛門貞行 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Kayano Wasuke Tsunenari 茅野和助常成 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Mimura Jiroemon Kanetsune 三村次郎右衛門包常 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Madaramaru
1867
Ōshima Tanzō
1866, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Painful (Itaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"
1888
Color woodblock print; oban
Shindō Kojirō Nobuyuki
1867, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Oishi and Tarasaka
Woodblock print
Somekawa
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Lady of the Houei Era (1704-1711)
Woodblock print
Imperial Lineage
Woodblock print
Lady in Kyoto Era (1716-1735)
Woodblock print
Oishi Se'emon 大石瀬右衛門 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Sergeant First-Class Yokoi ...
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yokokawa Kanbei Munetoshi 横川勘平宗利 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Fuwa Kazuemon Masatane 不破数右衛門正種 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô (Yaoya Oshichi and Koshô Kichisaburô)
Woodblock print
Matsubara Tachū
second half 1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka, from
Woodblock print
Yamato Warriors: Okajima Yasoemon Tsuneki and Kurahashi Densuke Takeyuki, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
Wakato
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yamato Warriors: Horibe Yasubei Taketsune, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
UTAGAWA Chikamaro (KAWANABE Kyosai)
Woodblock print
Ogata Gekko
Woodblock print
Shirakami Genjirō …
1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Black Hair
Woodblock print
Infantrist Fujino Kunimatsu …
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Lieutenant General Yamaji …
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Imoto Tekiho
Woodblock print
Komagine Hachibei
1868, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shima Sakon Tomoyuki
1868, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Suzuki Sujaku
Woodblock print
Oishi Sezaimon and Terasaka Kichiemon, from
Woodblock print
Emperor Meiji in Western Dress
Woodblock print
Empress Shoken in Western Dress and Bonnet
Woodblock print
Lady in Kaei Era (1848-54)
Woodblock print
Navy Lieutenant Commander Uchida
April or August 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
Asano Takumi no kami kerai Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio 浅野内匠頭家来大石内蔵助良雄 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
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
Fujinami Yukarinosuke
1867
Kō Musashi-no-kami Moronao
second half 1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Second Shogun, Lord Daitoku-inden Hidetada
1875
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
Oroku
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Ikeda Shuzo
Woodblock print
Yamato Warriors: Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
Lady of the Bunsei Era (1818-1830)
Woodblock print
Muramatsu Sandayu Takanao 村松三太夫高直 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Picture of Second Lieutenant Ōmori Skillfully Protecting the Regimental Banner at Seongyoli
September 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yada Goroemon Suketake 矢田五郎右衛門助武 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Woman of the Yoshiwara
1753–1806
color woodblock print
Akechi Samanosuke
1868, 10th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Preparatory drawing of Sakuma Dennai
circa 1868
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Semma Saburobei Mitsutada, from
Woodblock print
Warriors Oishi Sezaemon Nobukiyo and Terasaka Kichiemon Nobuyuki from the series Kenroku Yamato Kagami [Chūshingura]
1884 (Meiji 17)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e): ink and color on paper
Contemporary Styles
Woodblock print
Lady in Meiji Era (1868-1912)
Woodblock print
Tominomori Sukeemon Masanori 富森助右衛門正因 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
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.