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
Naoko
Woodblock print
Kumadori III
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Sailor Third Class Nishikawa Hatsutarō of the Warship Katsuragi
May 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Head
1954
Woodblock print
Impression of a Violinist (The woman violinist Negiko Suwa)
Woodblock print
Ikeda Shuzo (Ikeda Shuzo)
Woodblock print
Azechi Umetaro (Azechi Umetaro_)
Woodblock print
Nakao Yoshitaka
Woodblock print
Bungaro the Puppeteer
Woodblock print
30, Oda Nobunaga
December 1885
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Lieutenant-Colonel Tomioka, Commander of the Eleventh Infantry Regiment
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Tired look
Woodblock print
Crouching Woman
Woodblock print
Minamoto Tametomo, from the series The Unofficial History of Japan (Nihon gaishi no uchi)
1884 (Meiji 17)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e): ink, color, and metallic pigments on paper
Ono no Tōfū
May 1886
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Gazing Woman
Woodblock print
Profile
1948
Color woodblock print
A hood — Okoso-Zukin
Woodblock print
![Sekino Junichiro (1914-1988) [Sekino Jun-ichiro] by Onchi Koshiro](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/jaodb/images/Sekino_Junichiro-No_Series-Flowers_and_New_York-00032633-021002-F06.jpg)
Sekino Junichiro (1914-1988) [Sekino Jun-ichiro]
Woodblock print
Tipsy
1930
Woodblock print
Untitled (natori-shunsen)
Woodblock print
Captain Asakawa, Second Class Cavalryman Kimura Genmatsu
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shinagawa Takumi
Woodblock print
Kyodo risshi ki (Paragons of instruction and success)
Woodblock print
Kirino Toshiaki
1877
Soseki Komori (Shoseki)
Woodblock print
Pique Dame
Woodblock print
Onchi Kōshirō
1952
Color woodblock print
Captain Kani Ichita
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shungo Sekiguchi
Woodblock print
Cavalry Sergeant Kawasaki Iseo
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
First Lieutenant Mitani
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fukuchi Gen'ichirō, from the series Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition (Kyōdō risshi motoi)
1885 (Meiji 18)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Naval Commander Hirose Takeo
April 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Shinohara Kunimoto
1877
Kazue Yamagishi
Woodblock print
Solitude - A Model from Akita
1947
Color woodblock print
Woman wearing necklace
1955
Color woodblock print; edition 1/100
Four comical faces
1882
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Unknown, Woman 2
Woodblock print
Ernst Hacker (d, ?)
Woodblock print
Pencil Studies of Mr. Fujikake Shizuya
Woodblock print
Hair - 髪
circa 1970s (this item: First edition)
Woodblock print
Hair - 髪
circa 1970s (this item: First edition)
Woodblock print
Number 5 (1)
1969
Woodblock print
Number 4 (1)
1969
Woodblock print
Takasawa Keiichi
circa 1970s (this item: First edition)
Woodblock print
Number 2 (1)
1969
Woodblock print
Takasawa Keiichi Painting Collection - 高沢圭一画集
1977
Woodblock print
Pose — ポーズ
4
Woodblock print
Self Study
2015
Mokuhanga
Takasawa Keiichi Painting Collection - 高沢圭一画集
1984
Woodblock print
Pose - ポーズ
1984
Woodblock print
Bando Tamasaburo V as Ama Matsukaze
Woodblock print on ganpi paper with mica
Ichikawa Danshiro IV as Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo
Woodblock print on ganpi paper with mica
Bando Mitsugoro IX as Ukiyo Matahei
Woodblock print on ganpi paper with yellow mica
Kataoka Takao I as Fireman Matsukichi
Woodblock print on ganpi paper
Ichikawa Danjuro XII as Musashibo Benkei
Woodblock print on ganpi paper
Number 3 (1)
1969
Woodblock print
Pose — ポーズ
4
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.