Kanbun beauty

...In many cases, they were modeled after a particular popular actor, and like modern bromides, they were mass-produced and sold to meet the demands of enthusiastic fans. The earliest examples are found in the so-called "Kanbun beauties," hand-painted portraits of people standing alone, which were popular mainly during the Kanbun period (1661-73), and examples such as "Portrait of Ukon Genzaemon" (Tokyo National Museum) have been handed down. With the establishment of ukiyo-e in Edo, the main means of expression for actor portraits shifted from hand-painted paintings to woodblock prints, and from the Genroku period (1688-1704) onwards, actor portraits became established as a core repertoire of ukiyo-e, along with portraits of beautiful women. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Kanbun beauties" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…特定の人気のある役者をモデルとする場合が多く，現代のブロマイドと同様熱狂的なファンの要求にこたえて大量に制作，販売された。そのもっとも早期の例は，寛文期(1661‐73)を中心として流行した肉筆の一人立（ひとりだち）人物画像，いわゆる〈寛文美人〉の中に見いだされ，《右近源左衛門像》(東京国立博物館)などの作例が伝わる。江戸における浮世絵の成立とともに，役者絵の主たる表現手段は肉筆画から版画へと移り，元禄期(1688‐1704)以降，美人画とともに浮世絵の中核をなすレパートリーとして定着していく。…

※「寛文美人」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報