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
Moegi-iro no (Light Green)
もえぎ色の
Mezzotint
Yasou (Nocturne)
夜想
Mezzotint
Behind the Screen
Mezzotint
Sleeping Beauty - Moegi-iro
もえぎ色
Mezzotint
No 2
Not set
Woodblock print
Juliet
Mezzotint
Number 1 (1)
1969
Woodblock print
Pose — ポーズ
4
Woodblock print
The Kiss
Not set
Woodblock print
a Philosopher
Woodblock print
A Saint- B
Woodblock print
Woman and Woman- oil painting — 女と女
Not set
Woodblock print
Lovable Girls — 撫子
Not set
Woodblock print
Mask (14)
Woodblock print
Emperor Meiji Inspecting the Imperial Troops
Woodblock print
An Anko of Ooshima — 大島のアンコ
Woodblock print
Man in a Flurry, from an album of six woodblock prints
1958
Color woodblock print
Jacoulet Paul Chamorro Woman Rainbow Series Red
Woodblock print
Yosooi of the Matsubaya, from the series Selections from Six Houses in Yoshiwara (Seiro rokkasen) (Matsubaya Yosooi)
c. 1801/02
Color woodblock print; oban
Dozing in Tearing
1906
Woodblock print
Bang Bang (Ban Ban)
Woodblock print
Ogata Gekko
Woodblock print
Katsushika Hokusai
Woodblock print
Mask O
20th century
Color woodblock print
Arab in Bagdad
Woodblock print
Chapter 6 - Suetsumuhana
Woodblock print
Suetsuma Hana
Woodblock print
Ebicha Hakama — 海老茶袴
Woodblock print
Medusa (Medyusa)
Woodblock print
Mask No.12 (Kamen No. 12)
1964
Color woodblock print; edition 10/50
Chapter 42 - Niou-Miya
Woodblock print
Kitagawa Utamaro
Woodblock print
48, Tanaka Tsurukichi
February 1889
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Face No. 5
1991
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Inoue Yasuji
Woodblock print
Katsukawa Shun'ei
Woodblock print
Katsuda Kunihisa
Woodblock print
Clown No. 8
1969
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Tears (Namida)
Woodblock print
A Sad Woman
Woodblock print
Volume 8 - Takehisa Yumeji - 竹久夢二
Woodblock print
Younger Sister — 故小妹
Woodblock print
Joruri Singer
1936
Drawing
L'Homme Accroupi. Chinois
1947
Woodblock print
Vieillad au Chapelet, Kawadzu
1940
Woodblock print
Black hair
Not dated (1931)
Woodblock print
Styles of Contemporary Make-up: no. 5, Glossy Black Hair (Kindaijisesho no uchi: go, Kurokami)
1931
Woodblock print
Red Reverse: Osamu Sleeping
Woodblock print
Takehisa Yumeji Painting Collection - 竹久夢二画集
Woodblock print
Virgin Mary
Woodblock print
Femme Tatouee de Falalap, Oest Carolines
1935
Woodblock print
L'Attente. Celebes Menado (Waiting. Celebes Menado)
1947
Woodblock print
Tempete du Coeur, Seoul Coree
Not set
Woodblock print
The Mistress Okichi (of Townsend Harris) (Tojin Okichi)
1932
Woodblock print
Kitaoka Nizaemon as the villain
Woodblock print
Lady with Blue Kimono
Woodblock print
Le Nid Coree
1941
Woodblock print
Kiyoshi, Tokio
1939
Woodblock print
Hair — 髪
1933
Woodblock print
Couple pretending to be westerners
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.