is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women () in

Japanese art Japanese art consists of a wide range of art styles and media that includes Jōmon pottery, ancient pottery, Japanese sculpture, sculpture, Ink wash painting, ink painting and Japanese calligraphy, calligraphy on silk and paper, Ukiyo-e, paint ...

, especially in

woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later on paper. Each page ...

of the

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

genre.

Definition

defines as a picture that simply "emphasizes the beauty of women", and the ''Shincho Encyclopedia of World Art'' defines it as depiction of "the beauty of a woman's appearance". On the other hand, defines as pictures that explore "the inner beauty of women". For this reason, the essence of cannot always be expressed only through the depiction of a , a woman aligning with the beauty image. In fact, in ukiyo-e , it was not considered important that the picture resemble the facial features of the model, and the depiction of women in ukiyo-e is stylized rather than an attempt to create a realistic image; For example, throughout the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1603–1867), married women had a custom of shaving their eyebrows (), but in , there was a rule to draw the eyebrows for married women.

History

Ukiyo-e itself is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that was produced in Japan from the 17th century to the 19th century. The prints were very popular amongst the Japanese

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s and the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

of the time. From the Edo period to the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

(1868–1912), the technical evolution of ukiyo-e processes increased, with the accuracy of carving and printing and the vividness of colors used developing through the introduction of new printing processes and synthetic dyes. This technical development can also be seen in ukiyo-e , and many painters of contributed to the evolution of ukiyo-e techniques and styles, with the aim of maximizing the realistic expression of a real beauty living in the artists' time period. Nearly all ukiyo-e artists produced , as it was one of the central themes of the genre. However, a few, including

Utamaro was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''Bijin-ga, bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produ ...

Suzuki Harunobu Suzuki Harunobu (; ) was a Japanese designer of woodblock print art in the style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints () in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints. Harunobu used many spe ...

, Itō Shinsui,

Toyohara Chikanobu , better known to his contemporaries as , was a Japanese painter and printmaker who was widely regarded as a prolific woodblock artist during the Meiji epoch. Names Chikanobu signed his artwork . This was his . The artist's was ; and it ...

, and

Torii Kiyonaga Torii Kiyonaga (; 1752 – June 28, 1815) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Torii school. Originally Sekiguchi Shinsuke, the son of an Edo bookseller, from Motozaimokuchō Itchōme in Edo, he took on Torii Kiyonaga as an art name. Altho ...

, have been described as the greatest innovators and masters of the form. The term ''bijin-ga'' is also used for paintings that depict beautiful women with a brush, and the ''

nihonga ''Nihonga'' () is a Japanese style of painting that typically uses mineral pigments, and occasionally ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. The term was coined during the Meiji period (1868–1912) to differentiate it from ...

'' painter

Uemura Shōen was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her '' bijin-ga,'' or paintings of beautiful women, in the ''nihonga'' style, although s ...

was awarded the

Order of Culture The is a Japanese Order (decoration), order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japanese Art, Japan's art, Japanese Literature, literature, science, technolog ...

for breaking new ground in ''bijin-ga'' by depicting a different type of beauty than what had been painted before.

Gallery

File:Eisen1.jpg, by

Keisai Eisen Keisai Eisen (渓斎英泉, 1790–1848) was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist who specialised in '' bijin-ga'' (pictures of beautiful women). His best works, including his ''ōkubi-e'' ("large head pictures"), are considered to be masterpieces of ...

(1790–1848) File:Suzuki Harunobu - Woman Visiting the Shrine in the Night - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Woman Visiting the Shrine in the Night'' by

(1725–1770) File:Yōshū Chikanobu Shin Bijin 12.jpg, series, No. 12 by Yōshū Chikanobu (1838–1912) File:Yoshitoshi - 100 Aspects of the Moon - 11.jpg, ''100 Aspects of the Moon'' by

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi has widely been rec ...

(1839–1892) File:Brooklyn Museum - Two Women Standing from series "Tosai Yuri Bijin Awase" - Torii Kiyonaga.jpg, ''Two Women Standing'' from the series , by

(1752–1815) File:Getsumei rinka bijin majiru.jpg, Woman with cherry flowers by

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi ha ...

File:Brooklyn Museum - A Girl About to Despatch a Letter - Torii Kiyomine.jpg, ''A Girl About to Despatch a Letter'', by Torii Kiyomine (1786–1868) File:Chokosai Eisho, The Courtesan Someyama of the Matsubaya Brothel, Matsubaya Someyama, Contest of Beauties in the Gay Quarters.jpg, ''The Courtesan Someyama of the Matsubaya house'', from the series ''Contest of Beauties in the Gay Quarters'', by Eishosai Choki (active from about 1786 to 1808) File:Murasaki Shikibu 1876.jpg, ''

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, Japanese poetry#Age of Nyobo or court ladies, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial court in the Heian period. She was best known as the author of ''The Tale of Genji'', widely considered t ...

'', from the series by

(1839–1892) File:Harunobu Bijin sur une véranda.JPG, Woman in the night, by

, File:Kiyonaga bathhouse women-2.jpg, Bathhouse women, by

(1752–1815)

References

External links

Bijinga artworks
''gallery-sakura.com''. . {{Authority control Japanese words and phrases Female beauty Ukiyo-e genres Women in art

Definition

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links