Three Beauties of the Present Day
Here is a striking fact that stops most people in their tracks: the three women immortalized in Three Beauties of the Present Day were real, living celebrities when this print was made — not mythological figures, not royalty, but everyday women famous simply for being beautiful and charming in 1790s Edo. That choice alone made the work revolutionary.
Quick Facts
- Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro
- Year: c. 1792–1793
- Medium: Nishiki-e colour woodblock print
- Dimensions: Unknown
- Movement: Ukiyo-e
- Current location: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
What Makes Three Beauties of the Present Day So Unforgettable?
Most portrait art of the era celebrated power — emperors, shoguns, warriors, gods. Utamaro did something quietly radical instead. He turned his lens on three ordinary women from the entertainment districts of Edo and declared them worthy of the same reverence. That shift in subject matter was genuinely shocking at the time.
The three women depicted are geisha Tomimoto Toyohina and teahouse waitresses Naniwaya Kita and Takashima Hisa. These were real people that everyday Edo residents would have recognized instantly — the equivalent of street-level celebrities. Utamaro treated their faces with extraordinary tenderness and precision.
What truly sets Three Beauties of the Present Day apart is its triangular composition. The three faces nestle together with remarkable intimacy, their profiles overlapping slightly, creating a sense of warmth and connection. There is nothing stiff or formal about it. It feels alive.
In addition, Utamaro added their names directly on the print. That act of naming transformed the image from a generic beauty print into something closer to a portrait — a deliberate, named celebration of specific human beings. No other ukiyo-e artist had done this quite so boldly.
Historical Context
The early 1790s were a complicated moment in Japan. The Kansei Reforms, introduced by senior official Matsudaira Sadanobu, imposed strict moral codes on art and entertainment. The government grew suspicious of anything that glorified the pleasure districts or celebrated sensuality too openly.
However, Utamaro navigated this tension with skill. He elevated his subjects through beauty and refinement rather than overt eroticism. Three Beauties of the Present Day — also known as Three Beauties of the Kansei Era — sits right at that cultural crossroads, celebrating feminine beauty in a way that felt elevated and artistic rather than scandalous.
The ukiyo-e woodblock print market was booming in this period. Publishers competed fiercely for buyers, and celebrity-themed prints sold exceptionally well. Utamaro’s decision to name real, recognizable women was therefore both an artistic statement and a savvy commercial move. It worked brilliantly on both levels.
For example, Naniwaya Kita, one of the three subjects, became so closely associated with Utamaro’s work that her fame grew even larger as a result of his prints. The artwork and its subject fed each other’s celebrity — an early, fascinating example of media and fame intertwining.
Symbolism and What to Look For
Stand in front of Three Beauties of the Present Day — or study a good reproduction — and start with the composition itself. The three faces form a gentle triangle. Your eye moves between them naturally, never settling for long, which creates a quiet visual rhythm.
Notice the line quality. Utamaro’s outlines are extraordinarily refined. Each woman’s face is defined by clean, confident strokes. There is almost no shading in the Western sense — instead, form emerges from the precision of the line and the careful layering of colour.
Pay attention to the hair. The elaborate hairstyles signal each woman’s social role and status. The ornaments and pins are rendered with jeweller-like detail, yet nothing feels overdone. Utamaro understood restraint as a form of elegance.
The skin tones are pale and luminous — a deliberate cultural beauty standard of the era. However, each face carries subtle individuality. The expressions are not identical. One woman seems slightly more inward, another more open. Utamaro gave each subject a distinct inner life, which is rare in this genre.
Finally, look at the negative space around the figures. The background is minimal, which forces your full attention onto the faces. That simplicity is not laziness — it is a sophisticated compositional decision that makes the women feel monumental despite the intimate scale of the print.
About Kitagawa Utamaro
Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) stands as one of the greatest masters of ukiyo-e, the Japanese artistic tradition of “pictures of the floating world.” He spent most of his career in Edo (modern Tokyo), working closely with the influential publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō.
Utamaro became famous above all for his bijin-ga — paintings and prints of beautiful women. However, he brought something deeper to the genre than most of his contemporaries. He was fascinated by interiority — the suggestion of emotion, thought, and personality beneath a beautiful surface.
He also pioneered the ōkubi-e format: large close-up portraits that filled the picture plane with a face. This approach was radical in its time. His influence reached far beyond Japan — decades later, European Impressionists including Edgar Degas and Claude Monet collected and studied his work eagerly.
Utamaro’s career ended under a shadow. In 1804, he produced prints deemed politically offensive by the authorities and was briefly imprisoned. He died just two years later, in 1806, reportedly never fully recovering from the trauma.
Legacy and Influence
Three Beauties of the Present Day helped define what a portrait could be in Japanese art. By naming real subjects and treating them with genuine artistic seriousness, Utamaro expanded the possibilities of ukiyo-e beyond fantasy and stereotype.
His influence on Western art was profound. The flattened planes, the emphasis on line over shadow, the bold use of negative space — all of these qualities captivated the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists in the late nineteenth century. The movement known as Japonisme drew heavily on artists like Utamaro.
Therefore, the ripple effects of works like Three Beauties of the Present Day can be traced through Van Gogh, Mary Cassatt, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. When Cassatt depicted women in quiet domestic moments with spare, elegant lines, she was responding — consciously — to Utamaro’s example.
Today, the print remains one of the most reproduced and recognized works in the ukiyo-e tradition. It appears in museum collections, art history textbooks, and popular culture worldwide, its three faces as fresh and compelling as they were in 1793.
Where to See Three Beauties of the Present Day Today
The print lives in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), one of the finest repositories of Japanese art outside Japan. The MFA holds an exceptional collection of ukiyo-e prints, making a visit genuinely worthwhile for anyone interested in this tradition.
Before visiting, check the MFA’s online calendar. Woodblock prints are sensitive to light, so they rotate in and out of display to prevent fading. It is always worth confirming the print is on view before you make the trip.
While you are there, explore the broader Japanese galleries. The MFA’s holdings of Edo-period prints and paintings are outstanding. Look out for other Utamaro works in the collection, as well as prints by his contemporaries Hokusai and Hiroshige. The contrast between their styles is illuminating.
The museum is located on Huntington Avenue in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, easily accessible by public transit. Allow at least two to three hours to do the Japanese collection justice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Three Beauties of the Present Day located?
The print is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts. Due to light sensitivity, it may not always be on display, so checking ahead is recommended.
When was Three Beauties of the Present Day created?
Utamaro created this print around 1792 to 1793, during the Kansei era of Japanese history — a period defined by government reform and a flourishing popular culture.
What does Three Beauties of the Present Day represent?
The print celebrates three real, named women from Edo’s entertainment world: geisha Tomimoto Toyohina and teahouse waitresses Naniwaya Kita and Takashima Hisa. It represents a radical elevation of everyday feminine celebrity into fine art.
Why is Three Beauties of the Present Day so famous?
Its fame rests on several factors: the bold decision to name real living subjects, the extraordinarily refined artistry, and the intimate triangular composition. Together, these elements created something genuinely new in Japanese art history.
Who were the three women depicted in the print?
The three subjects were Tomimoto Toyohina, a well-known geisha, and Naniwaya Kita and Takashima Hisa, both celebrated teahouse waitresses. All three were genuine public figures in Edo during the early 1790s, recognized and admired by the city’s residents.
If Three Beauties of the Present Day has sparked your curiosity about ukiyo-e and the dazzling world of Edo-period Japan, you are in good company. Explore our related posts on Utamaro’s contemporaries, the Japonisme movement, and the Japanese art collections that changed Western painting forever — there is so much more beauty waiting for you here.
Image: Three Beauties of the Present Day – Kitagawa Utamaro (1793). License: Public Domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
