Bijin

This article is about Japanese term for a beautiful woman. For Chinese metro station, see Bijin Station.
A bijinga painting of a courtesan, by Kaigetsudō Ando, c. 1700 - 1720.

Bijin (美人) is a Japanese term which literally means "a beautiful person".

Meaning

However, in practice this term means "beautiful woman" because of kanji character bi (美) which has a feminine connotation.[1]

Bijin can also simply mean "(a) beauty"; in a modern and informal context it means "a doll". Bijins are usually beautiful, charming and harmonious women, who wear pretty clothes.

In Mandarin Chinese, 美人 (Pinyin: měirén) also means "a beautiful woman".[2]

Bijin in Japanese art

Main article: Bijin-ga

Pictures of bijins in Japanese art are called bijinga. Bijinga is described as a genre of ukiyo-e paintings.

Some of the greates bijinga artists are Utamaro, Suzuki Harunobu and Torii Kiyonaga.[3]

Until the beginning of the 20th century, bijinga was really popular.

Famous bijin women

Akita, located on Honshu, in northern Japan, is famous for its "bijins of Akita"[4] which are characterized by their round face, clear skin[5] and high-pitched voice.

Ono no Komachi, one of the Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry, was a beauty from Akita.[6]

Fukuoka, the largest city of Kyushu island in southern Japan, is also known for a large population of bijins.[7]

Some of Utamaro's favourite models have remained bijin famous; for example Naniwaya Okita (fr), a courtesan Hanaōgi (fr), Tomimoto Toyohina (fr) and Takashima Ohisa.[8]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Translation of kanji character 美
  2. ↑ Translation of 美人 in Mandarin Chinese
  3. ↑ Tadashi Kobayashi, Utamaro: Portraits from the Floating World, pages 89-92
  4. ↑ Le Petit Futé : Les bijin d'Akita, page 379 (in French)
  5. ↑ Chris Rowthorn, Ray Bartlett, Andrew Bender, Michael Clark, Matthew D. Firestone, Wendy Yanagihara, Lonely Planet, Japan, page 543
  6. ↑ The Woman Without a Hole - & Other Risky Themes from Old Japanese, page 173
  7. ↑ Chris Rowthorn, Ray Bartlett, Andrew Bender, Michael Clark, Matthew D. Firestone, Wendy Yanagihara, Lonely Planet, Japan, page 666
  8. ↑ Images du Monde Flottant - Peintures et estampes japonaises XVIIe - XVIIIe siècles, pages 300-305 (in French)

Bibliography

See also