Kanbun bijin 寛文美人

Lit. beauties of the Kanbun 寛文 era (1661-73). A generic and recently coined term for paintings of beautiful women and men, in particular, courtesans during the later half of the 17th century. By the middle of the 17th century, the growth of towns people as patrons of genre painting *fūzokuga 風俗画 and the emergence of depictions of courtesans in the painting of burgeoning pleasure quarters *yūrakuzu 遊楽図 gave birth to the "portrait" type known as Kanbun bijin, which reached its apogee in the Kanbun era. A new kind of feminine beauty, emphasizing an almost tangible sensuality was usually evoked by focusing on a single standing figure abstracted from any background, hitoridachi bijin 一人立美人, and painted with attention to silhouette, rhythmic sweep of line, rich color, as well as depicting gorgeous kimono 着物, fashionable hair-styles and accessories. In the broadest usage Kanbun bijin refer to pictures ranging from gold screens painted with dancers (Kyoto City Museum) to the enigmatic image of a single courtesan pushing aside a rope curtain *noren 暖簾 in the Nawa noren byōbu 縄暖簾屏風 (Hara 原 collection, Tokyo). Most typical, however, are the hanging scrolls of a lone courtesan seen in three-quarters view. The majority of the Kanbun bijin are anonymous beauties (for example, the scrolls in the Burke collection, New York, the Idemitsu 出光 Museum of Art, Tokyo, and Egawa 穎川 Museum, Hyōgo), although there are paintings of specific courtesans such as the portrait of Yoshino Dayū 吉野太夫 (Kitamura 北村 Museum, Kyoto). Similarly, most of the paintings are the products of anonymous "town painters"*machi eshi 町絵師, although noted artists such as Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (ca.1618-94) (e.g. Mikaeri bijin 見返り美人 or Beauty Looking Over Her Shoulder, Tokyo National Museum) also created works in the genre. The Kanbun bijin had a great impact on the style of early ukiyo-e bijin 浮世絵美人 painting, notably the works of the *Kaigetsudō-ha 懐月堂派 artists.