Three Beauties of the Kansei Period (三婦艶)

Kitagawa Utamaro, Three Beauties of the Kansei Period (三婦艶) ca. 1791, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 38.7 x 25.7 cm

This print is by leading ukiyo-e artist Utamaro, known primarily for his bijin-ga portraits of famous women. In this triangular composition he depicts three celebrity beauties of Edo, geisha Tomimoto Toyohina, and teahouse waitresses Naniwaya Kita and Takashima Hisa. Upon first glance their appearances seem to be evidently homogenous but when inspected closer, certain features slightly differ. Oftentimes the artists did not see their subjects first hand. The reason we know the identity of these women is due to their family crests, each placed in a different location such as their kimono or fan. As a result, their faces are highly idealized and not gritty, true-to-life representations. The varying characteristics presented are what each beauty is famous for such as a higher nose bridge, rounder eye shape, and shape of the brows. Utamaro creates such miniscule details and slight differences to shape the identities of each woman.