Before then, various works such as those found in ukiyoe, that are in the motif of women, were categorized as 'bijin-e' (paintings of beautiful women) and 'onna-e' (women pictures); but the latter term, for example, also included symbolic paintings of women with hikime-kagihana (drawn-line eyes and a hook-shaped nose) such as those found in "Genji Monogatari Emaki" (the Illustrated Handscroll of the Tale of Genji).
それ以前は、女性をモチーフとした例えば浮世絵に見られる諸作品は「美人絵（びじんえ）」や「女絵（おんなえ）」として分類されていたが、特に後者の呼称では源氏物語絵巻にあるような引目鉤鼻の記号的な女性図をも含んでいた。