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(1) Koson Ohara
Koson designed more than
four hundred and seventy bird printsa during the early 1900s.
Most of his prints were oriented vertically with a partial border as in
print 67. His bird subjects included more than seventy different species
with water birds, sparrows and crows being his favorites. The crow has a
symbolic association with winter in Japan which accounts for the winter
scene depicted in print 67. Snow or rain and a grey background appeared
more often in his bird prints than in those of any other shin hanga artist.
The accurate shape and color of the crow in this picture were also typical
of his work. Koson made his birds come alive by showing them engaged in
some type of activity, including calling as in this picture.
a See Newland et al. (2001) for
pictures of most of these prints.
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67 Large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
by Koson Ohara, 275 mm x 445 mm, woodblock print
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(2) Rakusan Tsuchiya
In the 1930s Rakusan
published several series of prints which included more than one hundred and
seventy bird printsa. Print 68 is one example. These series were
novel in a number of ways. First, prints were much larger in size than
other shin hanga prints. Second, all prints were oriented horizontally and
had very large borders. Third, birds and flowers were shown close up
instead of at a distance as in other bird prints. Fourth, unusual bird
species were chosen for depiction, including the African, white-winged
widowbird shown here. Fifth, birds were drawn and colored to show more
detail than other prints.
a See Nichols (2005) for all prints.
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68 White-winged widowbird (Euplectes
albonotatus) by Rakusan Tsuchiya, 575 mm x 410 mm, woodblock print
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(3) Shōun Yamamoto
Shōun made more
than ninety bird prints in the early 1900s. The majority were vertically
oriented, without borders and were relatively small as is print 69. The
composition was typically simple with the bird centered in the picture and
a plant or some other element added to provide scale. Shōun combined
short lines with patches of color to draw his birds. This technique was
most effective in depicting birds with mottled plumage such as the Japanese
quail in this print. For birds with more uniform coloring it was less
effective. The background color was usually a dull grey which made the more
colorful bird subject stand out. His bird subjects were usually members of
the most popular bird families and each had a symbolic association. Both
the quail and chrysanthemum flower in the background of this print are
symbols of autumn in Japan.
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69 Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
by Shōun Yamamoto, 115 mm x 240 mm, woodblock print
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(4) Gessō Yoshimoto
Gessō designed more
than fifty bird prints during the early 1900s. His bird subjects included
more than thirty species from twenty different bird families. His favorite
family was the tits (Paridae) and especially the great tit shown in print
70. Like Shōun Yamamoto above, he drew his birds by combining short
lines with patches of color. This technique often made his birds look like
they were molting with new feathers (i.e. lines) emerging in areas where
old feathers had been lost (i.e., areas of uneven color). Gessō
typically paired his bird subject with a plant to provide both scale and
additional color. The background color was more often bright, as in this
print, than dull as in prints 54 and 55. Most of Gessō’s prints had
the same format as this print with a vertical orientation and no borders.
He was one of the few shin hanga artists who also used the pillar print
format.
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70 Great tit (Parus major) by
Gessō Yoshimoto, 125 mm x 250 mm, woodblock print
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(5) Sōzan Itō
Sōzan was one of
the artists hired by the influential publisher Shōzaburō Watanabe
for whom he designed more than forty bird prints in the early 1900sa.
A notable feature of these prints was the diversity of bird species chosen
for depiction. Few were drawn more than once and many were non-natives such
as the Java sparrow (print 71) from tropical southeast Asia. Birds were
usually paired with plants as in this printb. Sōzan adopted
the western practices of drawing birds without a black outline and using
graded color to make them look three-dimensional. However, he chose the
traditional, far-eastern vertical format for most prints.
a later Sōzan was replaced by Koson
Ohara (Mirviss et al., 2004).
b This is a mythical scene because the
Java sparrow was kept in a cage in Japan as a pet.
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71 Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) by
Sōzan Itō, 170 mm x 380 mm, woodblock print
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(6) Gyōsan
The first name of this
mysterious artist appeared only on prints from a single seriesa
of more than thirty prints published in the 1880s. Print 72 is one example.
Each print included multiple species of birds and flowers associated with a
particular season of the year. Spring is the seasonal theme of this print.
Birds and flowers were drawn with sufficient accuracy to be recognizable
but accuracy was sacrificed to heighten visual appeal. For example, the
bullfinch’s stomach is not yellow but grey and flowers of both the cherry (Prunus
sp.) and rose (Rosa chinensis) are not so intensely pink. Color
intensity was maximized using synthetic colorants imported from Europe.
Gyōsan also followed the European practice of using graded color
instead of applying color uniformly as had ukiyo-e artists.
a The title of the series and names of the
species depicted appear in the banner at the top of the print. The series
title was Sōmoku Kachō Zue (i.e., Pictures of Plants, Flowers and
Birds).
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72 Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
and Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone) by Gyōsan, 255 mm x 375
mm, woodblock print
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(7) Rinsai Shiba
In the early 1880s
Rinsai designed several seriesa of prints similar to those of
Gyōsan. Each series included more than twenty prints. Birds were
paired with flowers and matched based on their seasonal symbolic
association. Print 73 is a spring scene with cherry flowers (Prunus
sp.), rose flowers (Rosa chinensis) and a copper pheasant. This
pheasant occupies upland habitats in Japan including the mountains shown in
the background. Rinsai’s prints included landscape elements such as
mountains more often than Gyōsan’s prints. Otherwise, their prints
were very similar. Birds and flowers were drawn only semi-accurately and
colored using synthetic pigments to maximize visual impact.
a Prints in one series, entitled
Kachō Kurabe (i.e., Comparison of Flowers and Birds), were
vertically-oriented and sold individually. In another series, entitled
Sōmoku Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture Album of Plants, Flowers and Birds),
prints were horizontally-oriented and sold together in a book.
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73 Copper pheasant (Syrmaticus
soemmerringii) by Rinsai Shiba, 250 mm x 370 mm, woodblock print
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(8) Bakufū Ohno
Bakufū’s published
about thirty bird prints in the mid-1900s. Picture composition was
relatively simple, typically a bird and plant or a bird alone. To depict
these objects Bakufū used one of two contrasting styles. In one style
objects were drawn using mostly straight lines as in print 74. Little
surface detail was shown and color was applied almost uniformly. As a
result, objects looked wooden and passive. In the second style objects were
drawn using mostly curved lines. More surface detail was shown and color was
strongly graded all of which made objects look more life-like (e.g., print
50). In both styles objects were shown against a solid background,
typically grey. However, some designs were issued using two different
background colors, one dark and the other light.
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74 Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus)
by Bakufū Ohno, 205 mm x 250 mm, woodblock print
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(9) Shōtei
Takahashi
Shōtei designed
about thirty bird prints during the first half of the twentieth century.
His prints were among the smallest produced by shin hanga artists. He also
chose mostly small birds as his subjects, for example the Daurian redstart
in print 75. Shōtei typically exaggerated the small size of the birds
he drew. These redstarts are less than half their true sizea
based on the size of the lily flowers in this picture. It was often a
challenge to identify the birds in Shōtei’s prints because they were
so small. Here the Daurian redstart’s unique color scheme simplified that
task. The horizontal orientation of this print was unusual for shin hanga
bird prints but was typical of Shōtei’s artwork.
a The size of the Daurian redstart
compared to that of plants is shown more accurately in print 74 above.
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75 Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus)
by Shōtei Takahashi, 150 mm x 100 mm, woodblock print
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(10) Seitei Watanabe
During the late 1800s
and early 1900s Seitei designed more than one hundred bird prints. About a
quarter were sold individually and the others appeared in picture albumsa.
Print 76 was sold individually. Most of these bird prints were oriented
horizontally but they were larger than those made by Shōtei Takahashi
(e.g., print 75). Like Shōtei, Seitei also favored small birds as
subjects. Some of his choices were unique among shin hanga artists,
including the Ryūkyū robin in print 76. Seitei was also unique in
choosing to depict the same species from different angles. Here we have a
back view. Seitei’s style was strongly influenced by western watercolor
painting. He used strongly graded color to create the wash effect evident
here on the bird’s back and in the sky behind.
a Seitei Kachō Gafu (i.e., Picture
Album of Flowers and Birds by Seitei) published in 1890-91 is perhaps the
best known of his four albums.
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76 Ryūkyū robin (Erithacus
komadori) by Seitei Watanabe, 285 mm x 215 mm, woodblock print
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(11) Gekkō Ogata
Gekkō was both a
painter and printmaker active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His
artwork included about twenty print birds, including print 77a.
For these prints he used the almost-square format without picture borders.
Each picture featured birds prominently positioned in a simplified
landscape. The space around the edges of the picture was left empty to
allow viewers to focus their attention on the picture’s bird subject. The
subject was usually a large bird (e.g., mandarin duck) chosen from one the
popular bird families (e.g., ducks and geese family). Bird shape was
typically distorted to suggest movement. Here the male duck in the
foreground had its neck extended and head tilted to get a better view of
you, the viewer.
a See Turley (2013) for additional
examples of Gekkō’s bird prints.
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77 Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) by
Gekkō Ogata, 235 mm x 230 mm, woodblock print
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(12) Kōgyo Tsukioka
Kōgyo designed more
than twenty bird prints in the early 1900sa. He was a student of
Gekkō Ogata (above) so not surprisingly their bird prints are similar
in some ways. For example, Kōgyo also used the almost-square format
without bordersb and usually depicted a large bird subject from
a popular bird family in a simplified landscape with empty space around the
picture’s edges (print 78). Their pictures also differed consistently in
some ways. Birds appeared in the background of Kōgyo’s pictures
instead of the foreground. Kōgyo also used coarser lines and patches
of color to create the shapes of his birds. Consequently, they look more
sketch-like than Gekkō’s birds.
a For additional examples see Schaap and
Rimer (2010).
b Borders were included when the original
version was reprinted.
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78 Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) by
Kōgyo Tsukioka, 285 mm x 275 mm, woodblock print
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(13) Bihō Takahashi
Bihō was active during
the early 1900s and made more than ten bird prints. Print 79 is one
example. His prints all had the same almost-square format and were
published both without borders and with borders. Like the red-crowned crane
in this print, most other prints featured a large bird from one of the most
popular bird families. The birds depicted were easy to identify because
they were drawn accurately and they occupied a large portion of the picture
area. Other objects included in the picture were typically few in number
and small in size, such as the bamboo plant here. Bihō clearly wanted
the viewer to focus on the picture’s bird subject. The attention-grabbing
reddish sky in this picture was unusual, both for Bihō’s pictures and
for shin hanga bird pictures in general. Dull grey skies were more typical.
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79 Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis)
by Bihō Takahashi, 250 mm x 240 mm, woodblock print
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(14) Chikuseki Yamamoto
Like Bihō Takahashi
above, Chikuseki designed more than ten bird prints during the early 1900s.
He and Bihō also used the same almost-square format for their prints.
Both men depicted birds accurately and chose their bird subject from the
most popular bird families but Chikuseki included many other objects in the
picture as well. For example, Chikuseki filled print 80 with bamboo while
Bihō only included a single, small bamboo plant in print 79. The
inclusion of more objects drew attention away from the bird subject but it
added interest and made the picture look more true-to-life. Pictures were
even more interesting if they showed active birds (e.g., fighting sparrows)
instead of passive birds (e.g., standing red-crowned cranes). For that
reason this picture is one of Chikuseki’s best designs.
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80 Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus)
by Chikuseki Yamamoto, 250 mm x 240 mm, woodblock print
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(15) Kakō Tsuji
Kakō was a painter
who also designed about a dozen bird prints during the early 1900sa.
He used the recently introduced western, realistic painting style to depict
traditional Japanese subjects such as the domestic fowl in print 81. He
drew bird shapes accurately and used graded color to make the birds look
three dimensional. The amount of detail he used to show the birds’ external
features in this picture was exceptionalb. To make colorful
birds stand out Kakō used a dull background in all his prints. In
other prints he also included colorful flowers. All of his prints were
oriented vertically, similar to his scroll paintings.
a See Morioka and Berry (1999) for more of
Kakō’s artwork.
b Compare this picture with prints 52 and
64.
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81 Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by
Kakō Tsuji, 195 mm x 365 mm, woodblock print
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(16) Kōitsu
Tsuchiya
During the early 1900s
Kōitsu designed a series of more than ten bird prints. Print 82 comes
from that seriesa. All prints were vertically-oriented and
featured a popular bird that had a symbolic association in Japan. The
mandarin ducks in this snowy scene were associated with both marital
fidelity and the winter season, which is the time of year when they formed large
flocks and were most obvious. Kōitsu drew his birds with less accuracy
than most other shin hanga artists. For example, the head of the male
mandarin duck was too small for its body and it looked two dimensional
because color was applied almost uniformly instead of strongly graded. To
help balance picture composition Kōitsu included a prominent plant in
most pictures.
a See Walker and Doi (2008) for pictures
of all Kōitsu’s prints.
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82 Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) by
Kōitsu Tsuchiya, 195 mm x 385 mm, woodblock print
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(17) Kōhō
Shoda
Kōhō was most
active during the early 1900s when he made more than ten bird prints. Most
were pillar prints (e.g., print 83) which was an unusual format for a shin
hanga bird print. Print composition was also unusual in two ways. First,
birds were often not the most prominent object in the picture and second,
prominent objects were often man-made. In print 83 a solitary crow was
dwarfed by a large, snow-covered grave marker. In Japan the crow was
associated with both winter and death which explained its pairing with snow
and a grave marker. All species chosen for depiction by Kōhō had
a symbolic association. The crow’s solid black color and relatively large
bill made it easy to identify even when drawn as just a small silhouette.
It was more challenging to identify some of the birds appearing in his
other prints due to their small size and lack of detail.
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83 Large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)
by Kōhō Shoda, 80 mm x 335 mm, woodblock print
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(18) Gyōsui
Gyōsui is another
mysterious shin hanga artist whose first name appeared on only a single set
of about a dozen bird prints. Print 84 is one example. All had the same
vertical format without a border. These prints are perhaps more correctly
described as bird-and-flower prints because in each print colorful flowers
accompanied the bird depicted. Flowers were usually matched with birds
based on their shared seasonal association. Here that season was spring.
Both the flowers and birds would be easily recognized because they were
drawn very accurately. Some of the birds chosen for depiction were unusual
for shin hanga prints. Instead of this olive-backed pipit, the skylark (Alauda
arvensis) was usually paired with these chinese milk-vetch (Astragalus
sinicus) flowers.
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84 Olive-backed pipit (Anthus hodgsoni)
by Gyōsui, 125 mm x 245 mm, woodblock print
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(19) Hodō Nishimura
During the 1930s
Hodō published a set of about ten bird prints. All had the vertical
format, white border and solid black background shown in print 85. Light
colors stood out particularly well against this black background (e.g., the
yellow crest and back feathers of the golden pheasant). Large, colorful,
exotic birds such as the golden pheasant were Hodō’s favorite
subjects. In each print he paired a colorful bird with equally prominent,
colorful flowers. In some cases the flowers and birds shared the same
seasonal association but in others they did not. The begonia flowers in
this picture are a symbol of autumn while the pheasant is a symbol of
spring. Like many other shin hanga artists Hodō adopted the western
practice of drawing the external features of his bird subjects accurately.
However, he was one of the few to also write their names in the picture
border.
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85 Golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus)
by Hodō Nishimura, 275 mm x 410 mm, woodblock print
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(20) Suikō Fukuda
Suikō was both a
painter and printmaker. In the 1930s he published a series of prints whose
theme was birds-and-flowers of the four seasons. Print 86 is one of the
more than ten prints in this series. The brown-eared bulbul and snake gourd
vine (Trichosanthes cucumeroides) depicted in this print are both
symbols of autumn in Japan. Suikō gave the viewer a close up view of
his bird and flower subjects with few or no other objects included in the
picture. The flowers and fruits were typically drawn more accurately than
birds. The bulbul’s feathers are dull brown and grey with only specks of
white instead of blue, black and white as shown here. Unlike Hodō
Nishimura above, Suikō did not show his subjects against a dark
background which made it difficult to see their shapes in some cases (e.g.,
bulbul’s head and stomach).
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86 Brown-eared bulbul (Ixos amaurotis)
by Suikō Fukuda, 275 mm x 405 mm, woodblock print
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