Elegant Portrait of a Geisha in Green Kimono Shin-hanga Style 14"H

Elegant Portrait of a Geisha in Green Kimono — Unknown Artist (Shin-hanga Style)

A beautifully composed bijin-ga (美人画, “beautiful woman picture”) in the refined style of Japan’s Shin-hanga movement (circa 1930–1950). The image portrays a serene young woman wearing a light green kimono over a red undergarment with delicately patterned floral motifs. Her coiffure is arranged in a traditional shimada style adorned with decorative kanzashi hair ornaments, rendered with striking detail and subtle color gradation typical of Kyoto print ateliers of the early Shōwa era.

The artist’s signature—two kanji characters ending with 光 (kō)—is accompanied by a small red seal. While the exact artist remains unidentified, this work exemplifies the bijin-ga ideals of grace, restraint, and refinement that flourished among Kyoto printmakers such as Kaburagi Kiyokata’s followers and the schools of Uemura Shōen and Ito Shinsui.

Executed with softly layered pigments on fine washi paper, the print captures the quiet dignity and poise of the modern yet traditional Japanese woman. Its restrained palette and luminous skin tones evoke the timeless elegance of early 20th-century Japanese portraiture.

Details:

• Artist: Unknown

• Period: Mid-Shōwa (ca. 1940–1960)

• Medium: Woodblock print on washi paper

• Style: Bijin-ga, Shin-hanga school

• Framed size: 14 x 10 in.

• Condition: Excellent color and impression with only minor toning appropriate to age. Presented in an attractive period bamboo frame.

This print is an evocative example of the enduring Shin-hanga fascination with feminine beauty, harmony, and refined modernity.