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
Cavalryman Higashibata Rinpei ...
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Old Man Nishimura Seated and Holding the Hochi Newspaper
1875
Woodblock print
Sakuma Dennai
1869, 3rd lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
The Actors Ichimura Uzaemon XIII and Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I Announcing Their Return to the Stage after Recovering from Measles
1862
Lady of the Kyouhou Era (1716-1755)
Woodblock print
Nakayama, Tadashi
Woodblock print
Male
Woodblock print
One of the Officers of the Warship Akagi ...
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shioda Matanojo Takanori 潮田又之丞高教 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu …
March 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
General Ōyama…
August 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kanzaki Yogoro Noriyasu 神崎与五郎則休 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Hazama Jujiro Mitsuoki 間十次郎光興 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
11, Chikamatsu Kanroku Minamoto Yukishige
1868, 6th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Appearing Warm, Behavior of an Urban Widow of the Kansei Era
March 1888
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
kawanabe-kyosai
Woodblock print
Takaragi
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Utagawa Toyokuni (KAWANABE Kyosai / UTAGAWA Toyokuni III)
Woodblock print
Genealogy of the Japanese Emperor
Woodblock print
Lady of the Kanbun Era (1661-72)
Woodblock print
Kagoshima boto tsuito ki
Woodblock print
Muramatsu Kihei Hidenao 村松喜兵衛秀直 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Hara Soemon Mototoki 原惣右衛門元辰 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1876
Woodblock print
Denzaemon Chiba with severed head
description
Woodblock print
Soga Jūrō Sukenari and Soga Gorō Tokimune
1872–73
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Osome
1864, 7th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yamato Warriors: Hayami Tozaemon Mitsutaka and Sugino Juheiji Tsugifusa, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
Oishi Chikara Yoshikane 大石主税良金 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Picture of Second Lieutenant Takenouchi Tearing apart the Reconnaissance Map at the Time of Death
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka 奥田貞右衛門行高 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Takebayashi Tadashichi Takashige 武林唯七隆重 / Gishi Shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Gunner Private First Class Sawagashira Unosuke …
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Hazama Shinrokuro Mitsukaze 間新六郎光風 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Fukami Jikyu (fukami jikyū)
1887
In The Mood for a Walk (Yuho ga shitaso), from the series "Thirty-two Aspects of Women (Fuzoku sanjuniso)"
1888
Color woodblock print; oban
Kurikara Kengorō
1867
Sugaya Kuemon
1868, 8th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Gyōsai's Discourses on Painting (Gyōsai gadan), vol. 1
1887 (Meiji 20)
Woodblock-printed book; ink and on paper
Yamato Warriors: Muramatsu Sandayu Takanao and Yanagihara Heiemon, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
A Collection of Pictures of Chignon Hairstyles (Kazura tsuke sokuhatsu zukai)
1887 (Meiji 20)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Okajima Yasoemon Tsuneshige 岡嶋八十右衛門常樹 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Two Mechanics of the Warship Matsushima …
August 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Infantryman Fujita Ukichi …
June 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Katsuta Shinzaemon Taketaka 勝田新左衛門武尭 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Iwami Jūtarō Kanesuke
1865, 6th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Muramatsu Sandayu Takanao, from
Woodblock print
Sugino Jippeiji Tsugifusa and Hayami Tozaemon Mitsutaka
Woodblock print
Yoshida Wawaemon and Okuda Magodayu, from
Woodblock print
Yamato Warriors: Chiba Saburobei Mitsutada and Yato Ueshichi Norikane, from Chushingura
Woodblock print
Lady of Meireki Era (1655-58)
Woodblock print
Preparatory Drawing for a Print Of Japanese Emperors and Empresses
Woodblock print
Woman Red with White Chrysanthemums, from the series The Appearance of Upper-Class Women of the Edo period (Tokugawa jidai kifujin no sugata)
Meiji period, dated October 1895
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper
Picture of Major General Tatsumi Comfortably Sleeping with the Powerful Enemy before His Eyes
1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Senba Saburobe Mitsutada 千馬三郎兵衛光忠 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Yoshida Chuzaemon Kanesuke 吉田忠左衛門兼亮 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
A Big Headache for Li Hongzhang
September 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Blockhead
December 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Colonel Kumamoto Masaji, Regimental Commander of the Imperial Guard Artillery
May 1904?
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kawasaki Gekkai
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.