Kitagawa Utamaro, "Ase o fuku onna" (woman wiping sweat), 1798.

Bijinga (美人画) is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre, which predate photography. The term can also be used for modern media, provided the image conforms to a somewhat classic representation of a woman, usually depicted wearing kimono.

Nearly all ukiyo-e artists produced bijinga, it being one of the central themes of the genre. However, a few, including Utamaro, Suzuki Harunobu, Toyohara Chikanobu, and Torii Kiyonaga are widely regarded as the greatest innovators and masters of the form.

[edit] See also

• Whiteness in Japanese culture

[edit] Further reading

• Hamanoka, Shinji. Female Image: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties. Hotei Publishing 2000. ISBN 90-74822-20-7

[edit] External links

• Bijinga artworks

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