佳人

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 佳人 is a noun read かじん, a literary or formal term for a beautiful woman.
• Basic usage: Use 佳人の姿 for the figure of a beauty in a work and 佳人をモデルにする for using such a person as an artistic model.
  • 古い詩には月下に立つ佳人の姿が描かれています。 describes an old poem portraying a beautiful woman standing under the moon; 絵師は町で出会った佳人をモデルに一枚の絵を描きました。 describes an artist painting a picture using a beautiful woman met in town as the model.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 佳人の姿
  • の links the portrayed figure to the beautiful woman.
• 佳人をモデルに
  • を marks the person selected, and に marks the role assigned to that person.
• The register of 佳人
  • It is more literary and formal than an ordinary everyday reference to a person.