Reader Collection > Exhibitions > Japanese Bird Art, 1950 to present day Part 1 Woodblock prints by 100 artists

Introduction

For hundreds of years the Japanese have used woodblock printing to produce printed art. To make an art print the picture design was first outlined on the surface of a block of wood. Areas surrounding this outline were then chiseled away. Next, ink was applied to the outline, followed by a piece of paper, and the back of the paper was rubbed to transfer ink to paper. To make a multi-colored print the piece of paper was placed sequentially on a series of wooden blocks each carved and inked differently to show a particular portion of the design.

The first woodblock-printed bird art was made in the early 18^th century. These art prints were sold individually to provide a relatively inexpensive form of visual entertainment and they continue to be produced today for the same purpose. The number of artists who used woodblock printing to make bird art has increased substantially from the 18^th to the 20^th century, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Approximate number of Japanese artists making woodblock-printed bird prints which were sold individually (as opposed to prints sold together in a book) during sixty-year intervals between 1710 and 2009.

This virtual exhibition presents examples of woodblock-printed bird art produced since 1950. A print by each of one-hundred artists represented in the Reader Collection of Japanese Art is included in the exhibition. Prints are arranged by the level of accuracy used by the artist to depict the bird subject, starting with the most accurate. Only a few artists (prints 1-10) depicted birds objectively (i.e., accurate shape and color). More artists (prints 11-68) depicted birds semi-objectively (i.e., semi-accurate shape and [or] color) while others (prints 69-100) depicted birds subjectively (i.e., inaccurate shape and color). The predominance of semi-objective and subjective depictions of birds in these prints reflects their purpose – to entertain.

For each print the name of the bird depicted is given along with the name of the artist, print title (if any) and print size.

 1   Ural owl (Strix uralensis) by Tōshi Yoshida, entitled two owls, 555 x 375 mm

2   Egret (Egretta sp.) by Tsukasa Yoshida, entitled sunset, 480 x 350 mm

3   Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) by Fumio Kitaoka, entitled swans on icefield, 925 x 635 mm

4   White-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) by Hirokazu Fukuda, entitled gentle rain, 325 x 250 mm

5   Narcissus flycatcher (Ficedula narcissina) by Shizuo Ashikaga, entitled narcissus flycatcher, 305 x 440 mm

6   Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) by Okiie Hashimoto, 330 x 440 mm

7   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Yasuo Matsunaga, entitled waiting for a favorable chance, 175 x 220 mm

8   Mute swan (Cygnus olor) by Ray Morimura, entitled mute swan, 140 x 160 mm

9   Greater-spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) by Yasu Katō, 235 x 325 mm

10   Oriental greenfinch (Carduelis sinica) by Mihoko Kasamatsu, entitled early spring, 320 x 240 mm

11   Blakiston’s fish-owl (Ketupa blakistoni) by Keisaburō Tejima, entitled owl’s lake – winter moon, 450 x 610 mm

12   Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) by Izumi Fujita, entitled between the waves – long-tailed duck, 320 x 400 mm

13   Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.) by Masaharu Aoyama, 415 x 300 mm

14   Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius) by  Gyōjin Murakami, entitled little ringed plover, 485 x 330 mm

15   Canada goose (Branta canadensis) by Gihachirō Okuyama, 245 x 120 mm

16   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) by Tadashirō Fukui, entitled fly, 310 x 230 mm

17   Ural owl (Strix uralensis) by Takashi Hirose, entitled Ural owl, 150 x 200 mm

18   Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.) by Shirō Kasamatsu, entitled cormorant group, 275 x 400 mm

19   Ural owl (Strix uralensis) by Mikio Ohkawa, entitled Ural owl, 155 x 210 mm

20   Ural owl (Strix uralensis) by Fū Takenaka, entitled happiness, 230 x 320 mm 

21   Ural owl (Strix uralensis) by Kōhō Ōuchi, entitled blooming, 180 x 180 mm

22   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Hiromu Satō, 115 x 160 mm

23   Large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) by Yoichi Nakano, entitled crow B, 180 x 180 mm

24   Large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) by Masaaki Terada, 480 x 385 mm

25   Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) by Eiichi Kotozuka, entitled Chinese quince and yellow-crested cockatoo, 300 x 450 mm

26   Cockatoo (Cacatua sp.) by Kazuhiko Sanmonji, entitled my dreams, 270 x 350 mm

27   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) by Tomikichirō Tokuriki, 275 x 295 mm

28   Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) by Shirō Takagi, entitled spring bird, 310 x 430 mm

29   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) by Yasushi Ōmoto, 160 x 105 mm

30   Rock dove (Columba livia) by Jun’ichirō Sekino, 180 x 140 mm

31   Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) by Yoshiyuki Nakano, 360 x 275 mm

32   Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) by Kaoru Kawano, 420 x 290 mm

33   Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) by Shūzō Ikeda, 190 x 175mm

34   Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus) by Natsuo Ikegami, 110 x 110 mm

35   Bull-headed shrike (Lanius bucephalus) by Yutaka Ōkubo, 150 x 125 mm

36   White-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) by Hajime Ōkubo, 150 x 125 mm

37   Ostrich (Struthio camelus) by Hiroshi Ueda, 285 x 375 mm

38   Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) by Tomoko Kyūki, entitled bird’s time – cuckoo, 100 x 150 mm

39   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Kan Kozaki, 220 x 330 mm

40   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Iwao Akiyama, 250 x 300 mm

41   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Manjirō Asaka, 280 x 400 mm

42   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Makoto Yumeda, entitled silence, 300 x 410 mm

43   Scops owl (Otus sp.) by Kunio Satō, entitled owl, 290 x 185 mm

44   Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) by Yūzaburō Kawanishi, entitled flight, 175 x 130 mm

45   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Shun’ichi Kadowaki, entitled self-carved woodcut rooster, 240 x 270 mm

46   Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.) by Totsurō Shimada, 320 x 335 mm

47   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Shigeru Takaku, 150 x 200 mm

48   Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) by Yūkichi Utakawa, 165 x 190 mm

49   Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) by Seikō Kawachi, entitled getting up 1, 180 x 250 mm

50   Scops owl (Otus sp.) and pygmy woodpecker (Dendrocopos kizuki) by Kiyomi Moji, entitled home in the forest, 215 x 240 mm

Artists:   1-50   51-100   or   Back to Exhibitions