Kitagawa Utamaro created the famous 1793 portrait series Ten Studies in Physiognomic Expression.
The series, also known as Ten Classes of Women’s Physiognomy, consists of close-up portraits exploring different facial types, expressions, and social identities. Utamaro became particularly celebrated for bijin-ga, images of beautiful women, and for a style that emphasized elegant poses, patterned textiles, and expressive faces.
The series reflects a broader shift in ukiyo-e toward close portraiture. Rather than showing figures only as small participants in a full scene, artists enlarged the head and upper body so viewers could study hairstyle, makeup, costume, gesture, and expression. Utamaro’s designs often suggest the identity or character of a woman through visual details rather than through extensive written explanation.
The title is sometimes confused with Sharaku’s actor portraits, which belong to a short period in the 1790s and focus on kabuki performers. Utamaro’s series centers on women and physiognomic types. As with many commercial ukiyo-e works, individual impressions could differ because they were printed repeatedly from the same carved blocks.