Reader Collection > Exhibitions > Japanese flower-bird prints by related artists

Introduction

Family members often share similar talents and interests so it is perhaps not surprising that some Japanese flower-bird prints were made by artists who were related, either by birth or through adoption.  These related artists drew their flower and bird subjects using a similar style, perhaps reflecting shared family genes and (or) the training of one family member by another (e.g., a father instructing a son or daughter). Examples of flower-bird prints made by twenty-one pairs of related artists (i.e., same family name) are included in this virtual exhibition. For each of the twenty-one pairs of prints the following information is provided: artists’ family name and first names, relationship between the two family members, their dates of birth and death (if known), names of the flowers and (or) birds depicted, title and publishing date of the book in which a print was included (if any), printing method and print size. These prints are part of the Reader Collection of Japanese Flower and Bird Art and are arranged below by the birth date of the elder artist in the related pair, from the earliest to the most recent.

1   Father - Tan'yū Kanō (1602-1674), balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus), eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and Japanese thrush (Turdus cardis), woodblock print, 75 x 340 mm

1   Son – Tsunenobu Kanō (1636-1713), white-bellied pigeon (Treron sieboldii), woodblock print, 180 x 285 mm

2   Father – Morikuni Tachibana (1679-1748),  torch azalea (Rhododendron kaempferi) and blue magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha), woodblock print, 320 x 255 mm, included in Ehon Tsūhoshi (i.e., The Hold-All of Sketching Treasures), 1729

2   Son – Yasukuni Tachibana (1717-1792), apple (Malus domestica), cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) and rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), woodblock print, 320 x 225 mm, included in Ehon Eibutsu Sen (i.e., Picture Book of Selected Subjects), 1779

3   Adoptive-father – Masanobu Okumura (1686-1764), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), woodblock print, 160 x 325 mm

3   Adopted- son – Toshinobu Okumura (active 1717-50),  scops owl (Otus sp.) and Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), woodblock print, 170 x 340 mm

4   Father – Ōkyo Maruyama (1733-1795), rice (Oryza sativa) and white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm, included in Sho Meika Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Various Famous Painters), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1898

4   Son – Ōju Maruyama (1777-1815), China rose (Rosa chinensis) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora), woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm, included in Sho Meika Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Various Famous Painters), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1898

5   Father –  Ganku Kishi (1749 or 1756-1838), red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm, included in Sho Meika Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Various Famous Painters), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1898

5   Son – Gantai Kishi (1782-1865), red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), woodblock print, 330 x 240 mm, included in Seikajo (i.e., Refined Pictures of Flowers and Birds), edited by Naosaburō Yamada, 1892

6   Elder brother – Goshun Matsumura (1752-1811), tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) and green peafowl (Pavo muticus), woodblock print, 300 x 240 mm, included in Bijutsu Sekai (i.e., World of Art), edited by Seitei Watanabe, 1892-5

6   Younger brother – Keibun Matsumura (1779-1843), mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) and Baikal teal (Anas formosa), woodblock print, 400 x 275 mm

7   Father –  Ōju Maruyama (1777-1815), plum (Prunus mume) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora), woodblock print, 190 x 255 mm, included in Meika Gafu (i.e., Picture Album by Celebrated Artists), edited by Tōkei Mano, 1814

7   Son – Ōshin Maruyama (1790-1838), Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) and domestic fowl (Gallus gallus), woodblock print, 350 x 275 mm, included in Shūbi Gakan (i.e., Drawing Methods for Aesthetic Pictures), edited by Sakujirō Nanbara, 1889

8   Adoptive-father – Bumpō Kawamura (1779-1821), Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora), woodblock print, 340 x 260 mm, included in Kimpaen Gafu (i.e., Picture Album by Kimpaen), 1820

8   Adopted son -  Kihō Kawamura (1778-1852), rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) and Japanese grosbeak (Eophona personata), woodblock print, 340 x 250 mm, included in Kihō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album by Kihō), 1827

9   Father-in-law –  Kunisada Utagawa (1786-1864), lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus), woodblock print, 105 x 155 mm

9   Son-in-law – Kunisada II Utagawa (1823-1880), cherry (Prunus sp.) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), woodblock print, 290 x 225 mm

10   Father –  Raishō Nakajima (1796-1871), little egret (Egretta garzetta), woodblock print, 165 x 245 mm, included in Sho Taika Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Various Masters), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1896

10   Son – Yūsho Nakajima (1837-1905), fiveleaf akebia (Akebia quinata) and skylark (Alauda arvensis), woodblock print, 310 x 240 mm, included in Meika Gafu (i.e., Picture Album by Celebrated Artists), edited by Naosaburō Yamada, 1913

11   Father – Hyakunen Suzuki (1825-1891), common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), woodblock print, 335 x 240 mm, included in Miyako No Nishiki (i.e., Brocade of the Capital), edited by Jihee Tanaka, 1891

11   Son – Shōnen Suzuki (1849-1918), Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus), woodblock print, 265 x 200 mm, included in Kinsei Meika Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Famous Painters of Recent Times), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1898

12   Adoptive-father – Kanpo Araki (1831-1915), cherry (Prunus sp.) and varied tit (Sittiparus varius), woodblock print, 320 x 230 mm, included in Mōhitsu Etehon (i.e., Practice Book of Brush Painting), 1897

12   Adopted son – Jippo Araki (1872-1944), plum (Prunus mume) and Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone), woodblock print, 250 x 185 mm, included in Joshi Mōhitsu Etehon (i.e., Girl's Practice Book of Brush Paintings), 1905

13   Father – Kimei Nakano (1834-1891), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and skylark (Alauda arvensis), woodblock print, 320 x 150 mm, included in Kaiga Chō (i.e., Album of Pictures), edited by Kanpo Araki, 1892

13   Son – Kigyoku Nakano (active in early 1900s), plum (Prunus mume) and Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone), woodblock print, 340 x 280 mm, included in Kigyoku Gafu (i.e., Picture Album by Kigyoku), 1901

14   Father – Suian Hirafuku (1844-1890), Indian chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum) and lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus), woodblock print, 125 x 305 mm

14   Son – Hyakusui Hirafuku (1877-1933), Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone), lithographic print, 75 x 355 mm

15   Father – Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950), bleeding heart (Dicentra peregrina) and rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), woodblock print, 405 x 275 mm

15   Son – Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995), rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), woodblock print, 405 x 270 mm

16   Father – Shirō Kasamatsu (1898-1992), Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus), woodblock print, 275 x 405 mm

16   Daughter – Mihoko Kasamatsu (1932-), common redpoll (Carduelis flammea), woodblock print, 190 x 170 mm

17   Father – Shōkō Uemura (1902-2001), peach (Prunus persica), Formosan magpie (Urocissa caerulea), lithographic print, 660 x 500 mm

17   Son – Atsushi Uemura (1933-), Chinese smilax (Smilax china), great tit (Parus major), lithographic print, 660 x 540 mm

18   Father – Makoto Ueno (1909-1980), rock dove (Columba livia), woodblock print, 310 x 420 mm

18   Son – Shū Ueno (1939-), unknown flower and scops owl (Otus sp.), woodblock print, 175 x 245 mm

19   Father – Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995), cherry (Prunus sp.), oriental turtle-dove (Streptopelia orientalis), woodblock print, 550 x 345 mm

19   Son – Tsukasa Yoshida (1949-), heron (Egretta sp.), woodblock print, 480 x 350 mm

20   Father – Iwao Akiyama (1921-), scops owl (Otus sp.), woodblock print, 250 x 300 mm

20   Son – Toyohide Akiyama (1962-), unknown bird, woodblock, 240 x 310 mm

21   Father – Masao Ohba (1928-2008), owl (Family Strigidae), screenprint, 135 x 195 mm

21   Son – Keisuke Ohba (active late 1900s-2010s), owl (Family Strigidae), screenprint, 105 x 150 mm

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