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Bishōnen (美少年. literally, "beautiful boy") is a specific Japanese aesthetic concept of the ideally beautiful young man. The prefix bi- (美) specifically refers to feminine beauty (bijin, lit. "beautiful person", refers to a beautiful woman.) The bishōnen is typically quite slender and not very muscular, with a tapered chin, stylish hair, and an overall effeminate or androgynous appearance. The aesthetic of the bishōnen began as an ideal of a young homosexual lover. It is perpetuated today in anime and manga, especially shojo (girl) anime, shonen-ai, and yaoi.
Some western anime and manga fans use the term (incorrectly) to refer to any handsome male character regardless of age, rather than teenage or younger, often shortening it to 'bishie.' It is occasionally even used to describe some androgynous female characters (such as Lady Oscar in Rose of Versailles, as well as Karou no Kimi and Hana no Saint Juste in Oniisama E)
Alternative spellings are bishonen and bishounen.
- Bishonen is a Hong Kong film about a gay romance. See: Bishonen (movie)
- "Bishonen" is also the name of a song by Momus (musician).
- Bishonen is also a brand of sake.
- Utukki: Babylonian Mythology Was Never So Bishounen is a manga web comic based on the myth of the Utukki.