nigao-e 似顔絵

1　Lit. "face likeness pictures." Very often bust portraits or a likeness of the head. See *nise-e 似絵 for portraits prior to the Edo period.

2　In *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, a portrait of an actor *yakusha-e 役者絵 in which the actor's distinguishing features are represented in such a way that he may be recognized by face alone. The term nigao-e is also sometimes applied to the pictures of beautiful women *bijinga 美人画, but generally these portrayals do not individualize the woman's feature and she is identified through symbolized clothing or other details. It is commonly thought that in the early period of the polychrome print *nishiki-e 錦絵 in the 18th century, Ippitsusai Bunchō 一筆斎文調 (fl.c. 1765-92) and Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (1726-92) created a new style of actor portraits departing from the earlier stylized work of the *Torii-ha 鳥居派 artists. This change paralleled an increasing trend in other areas of Japanese art toward incorporating the knowledge gained from direct study of people and things as they appear in life. These likeness prints of actors. Shunshō's followers Shunkō 春好 (1743-1812) and Shun'ei 春英 (1762-1819) took over this style, and at the end of 18th century an even stronger emphasis on portraying the individual traits and peculiarities of actors prevailed. Nigao-e reached a new height in the work of Tōshūsai Sharaku 東洲斎写楽 (fl.1794-5), who portrayed both the exterior features and personality of actors. Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国 (1769-1825) gained popularity for his actor portraits with a certain amount of beautification and was dubbed Nigao-eshi Toyokuni 似顔絵師豊国 (from the preface to the Tengu-no-tsubute Hana-no-edokko 天狗礫鼻江戸子; 1793). Leadership in nigao-e then changed from the *Katsukawa-ha 勝川派 to the *Utagawa-ha 歌川派, and Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 (1786-1864). These and other Utagawa-ha artists produced many nigao-e actor prints until the end of the Edo period.