Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)

This untitled woodblock print by Inuzuka Taisui is one of a large group of works in the artist's catalog whose subjects have not been individually documented. The print belongs to the broader output of shin-hanga kacho-e that Taisui produced during the late Taisho and early Showa periods. Japanese flower-and-bird prints served multiple functions in this era: they decorated domestic spaces, marked seasonal transitions in the manner of traditional hanging scrolls, and circulated as collectible art objects in the growing international market for Japanese prints. Taisui's prints fulfilled these roles through close botanical observation rendered in the refined color palette and careful registration that the woodblock medium demands.