{"id":16738,"date":"2025-05-19T14:20:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T12:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/?page_id=16738"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:20:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:20:42","slug":"female-beauties-and-actors-of-the-edo-period","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/en\/female-beauties-and-actors-of-the-edo-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Female beauties and actors of the Edo period"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The depiction of female beauty was a preferred theme of ukiyo-e<\/em> artists. It originated in painted scrolls and screens\u2014traditionally reserved for the warrior class and aristocratic elites\u2014depicting court ladies of the Heian period (794-1192), as seen in scrolls illustrating The Tale of Genji<\/em> written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 17th century, during the Kanei and Kanbun eras, portraits of courtesans and prostitutes, as well as peasant, merchant, and weaver women appeared. These images testify to the emergence of an urban and merchant bourgeoisie in \u014csaka, and later in the capital Edo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new ideal of beauty began to take shape with ukiyo-e<\/em> painters. Hishikawa Moronobu (d. 1694), who was the creator of the first separate-sheet woodblock prints, produced the most famous painting of the genre, Beauty Looking Back<\/em>. In the 18th century, many artists embraced the theme, in response to the public\u2019s enthusiasm, such as Kaigetsud\u014d Ando, \u200b\u200bSuzuki Harunobu, and Torii Kiyonaga. But the painter par excellence of beauties was indisputably Kitagawa Utamaro. His close-up portraits reveal the humanity of his models, all the while idealizing them. Utamaro excelled in his depictions of celebrated courtesans and geisha of the day, particularly those in the Yoshiwara district of Edo. Beyond the depiction of female beauty, the appeal of these images lay in their potential to convey changing trends in fashion (fabrics, hairstyles, make-up, etc.), illustrating an evolving society despite the highly codified organization implemented by the shogunate. The images also reflect an aesthetic specific to the Edo period based on the notion of iki<\/em>, a concept that is difficult to translate but which refers to the ephemeral, the cult of the moment, and a sense of detachment from the world through an emphasis on discreet charm, elegance, and worldliness. Faithful to this fashionable theme, Hokusai produced remarkable portraits of women from all social backgrounds: the wives of high-ranking warriors or aristocrats, merchants\u2019 wives, courtesans and prostitutes, teahouse waitresses, and working-class women. Following in the footsteps of his first master, Shunsh\u014d, who revived the genre, Hokusai also painted portraits of actors, meeting the strong demand from his contemporaries. Kabuki theatre was the preferred cultural activity of city dwellers, and actors were akin to today\u2019s celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Masterpieces from the Hokusai-kan Museum, Obuse<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Water in Hokusai\u2019s work<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Katsushika Hokusai 1760-1849 : Chronology of the Edo period<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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The Great Wave<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Ukiyo-e\u00a0<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Painting nature<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Observing and sublimating the landscape<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Hokusai in Obuse\u00a0<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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Hokusai and Mount Fuji<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/a>
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The depiction of female beauty was a preferred theme of ukiyo-e artists. It originated in painted scrolls and screens\u2014traditionally reserved for the warrior class and aristocratic elites\u2014depicting court ladies of the Heian period (794-1192), as seen in scrolls illustrating The Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century. In the 17th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17364,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"indications-recherche":[],"class_list":["post-16738","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFemale beauties and actors of the Edo period - Ch\u00e2teau des ducs de Bretagne | Mus\u00e9e d\u2019histoire de Nantes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chateaunantes.fr\/en\/female-beauties-and-actors-of-the-edo-period\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Female beauties and actors of the Edo period - Ch\u00e2teau des ducs de Bretagne | Mus\u00e9e d\u2019histoire de Nantes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The depiction of female beauty was a preferred theme of ukiyo-e artists. 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