Reader Collection > Exhibitions > Misattributed Japanese Bird Prints Sold by the Shima Art Company

Introduction

During the early 1900s the Shima Art Company sold Japanese art prints to the American public from a store in New York City. They sold both original prints and reproductions which were a less expensive alternative to the originals. These reproductions bear the seal of the Shima Art Company (picture 1) and were made for the Company by publishers of art prints in Japan. Most of these prints also showed the signature of an artist. Unfortunately, the signature appearing on many of the prints was not that of the artist who drew the original design. To illustrate, and correct, some of these misattributions this virtual exhibition presents 28 examples of bird prints misattributed to six artists whose signatures are shown in pictures 2-7.  These six famous artists each drew pictures of birds but not these particular designs. For each of the misattributed designs the original design is shown alongside and the name of the original artist is given. The following, additional information is also provided for each pair of prints: names of the flowers and (or) birds depicted, printing method and print size. Copies of the 28 misattributed prints and their original counterparts are included in the Reader Collection of Japanese Art.

Additional Reading

Kotarō Sumii. 2004. Shima Art Company, the History of My Grandparents’ Business. http://shotei.com/publishers/shima/shima.htm

1m   Scops owl (Otus sp.) misattributed to Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, 260 x 380 mm

1o   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 285 x 275 mm

2m   White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) misattributed to Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, 190 x 260 mm

2o   White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 285 x 275 mm

3m   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) misattributed to Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, 250 x 385 mm

3o   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Bihō Takahashi, woodblock print, 240 x 270 mm

4m   Rock dove (Columba livia) misattributed to Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm

4o   Rock dove (Columba livia) by Gekkō Tanaka, woodblock print, included in Meika Gafu (Picture Album by Celebrated Artists), edited by Naosaburō Yamada, 1907, 310 x 240 mm

5m   White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) misattributed to Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, 260 x 385 mm

5o   White-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) by Ryōmi, woodblock print, 240 x 270 mm

6m   Plum (Prunus mume) and golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) misattributed to Hōbun Kikuchi, woodblock print, 190 x 255 mm

6o   Plum (Prunus mume) and golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) by Keinen Imao, woodblock print, included in Keinen Kachō Gakan (Pictorial Models of Flowers and Birds by Keinen), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1892, 275 x 205 mm

7m   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and oriental greenfinch (Carduelis sinica) misattributed to Hōbun Kikuchi, woodblock print, 190 x 260 mm

7o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and oriental greenfinch (Carduelis sinica) by Keinen Imao, woodblock print, included in Keinen Kachō Gakan (Pictorial Models of Flowers and Birds by Keinen), edited by Gessai Fukui, 1892, 275 x 205 mm

8m   China rose (Rosa chinensis) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) misattributed to Hōbun Kikuchi, woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm

8o   China rose (Rosa chinensis) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) by Ōju Maruyama, woodblock print, included in Sho Meika Kachō Gafu  (Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Various Famous Painters) edited by Gessai Fukui, 1898, 195 x 260 mm

9m   Winged spindletree (Euonymus alatus) and Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) misattributed to Hōbun Kikuchi, woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm

9o   Winged spindletree (Euonymus alatus) and Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) by Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, included in Bairei Kachō Gafu (Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Bairei) edited by Gessai Fukui, 1893, 270 x 210 mm

10m   Sasanqua camellia (Camellia sasanqua) and chattering lory (Lorius garrulus) misattributed to  Hōbun Kikuchi, woodblock print, 190 x 255 mm

10o   Sasanqua camellia (Camellia sasanqua) and chattering lory (Lorius garrulus) by Keibun Matsumura, woodblock print, included in Keibun Kachō Gafu Kōhen  (Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Keibun, Sequel) edited by Gessai Fukui, 1894, 275 x 205 mm

11m   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) misattributed to Ippō Mori, woodblock print, 105 x 155 mm

11o   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 150 x 205 mm

12m   Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) and great tit (Parus major) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 190 x 260 mm

12o   Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) and great tit (Parus major) by Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, included in Bairei Kachō Gafu (Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Bairei) edited by Gessai Fukui, 1893, 270 x 210 mm

13m   Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 195 x 260 mm

13o   Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) by Bairei Kōno, woodblock print, included in Bairei Kachō Gafu (Picture Album of Flowers and Birds by Bairei) edited by Gessai Fukui, 1893, 270 x 210 mm

14m   Japanese iris (Iris ensata) and common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 190 x 380 mm

14o   Japanese iris (Iris ensata) and common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 190 x 370 mm

15m   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 190 x 380 mm

15o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 195 x 365 mm

16m   Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 125 x 255 mm

16o   Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 190 x 370 mm

17m   Weeping forsythia (Forsythia suspensa) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 130 x 255 mm

17o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 120 x 165 mm

18m   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 190 x 260 mm

18o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) by Gogyō Miyake, woodblock print, included in Meika Gafu (Picture Album by Celebrated Artists), edited by Naosaburō Yamada, 1907, 310 x 240 mm

19m   Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis), aster (Aster sp.) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 190 x 380 mm

19o   Eulalia grass (Miscanthus sinensis), aster (Aster sp.) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) by Soseki Komori, woodblock print, 190 x 345 mm

20m   Little egret (Egretta garzetta) misattributed to Keinen Imao, woodblock print, 250 x 390 mm

20o   Little egret (Egretta garzetta) by Ryōmi, woodblock print, 235 x 270 mm

21m   Plum (Prunus mume) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) misattributed to Ōkyo Maruyama, woodblock print, 80 x 340 mm

21o   Plum (Prunus mume) and little egret (Egretta garzetta) by Inshō Dōmoto, lithographic print, 75 x 355 mm

22m   Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) and Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 190 x 380 mm

22o  Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) and Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 195 x 375 mm

23m   Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 125 x 180 mm

23m   Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) and zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 195 x 370 mm

24m   Black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 190 x 380 mm

24o   Black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 175 x 360 mm

25m   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 125 x 180 mm

25o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 150 x 210 mm

26m   Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 125 x 255 mm

26o   Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) by Koson Ohara, woodblock print, 120 x 180 mm

27m   Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 80 x 340 mm

27o   Japanese bush-warbler (Cettia diphone) by Hirakufu Hyakusui, lithographic print, 70 x 355 mm

28m   Narcissus flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) misattributed to Seitei Watanabe, woodblock print, 80 x 340 mm

28o   Cherry (Prunus sp.) and narcissus flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) by Hōshun Yamaguchi, lithographic print, 75 x 355 mm

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