Two Birds on Hibiscus Tree

This chuban-format kacho-ga (bird-and-flower print) from about 1770, in the Art Institute of Chicago, depicts a pair of small birds perched on the branches of a flowering hibiscus tree. The hibiscus, with its large, short-lived blossoms, was a favored summer motif in the kacho-ga tradition, and the combination with a paired bird subject extends the symbolic vocabulary of conjugal devotion that runs through Koryusai's bird studies. The print belongs to his substantial output of bird-and-flower designs in the chuban format, a body of work that has sometimes been overshadowed by his bijin-ga and pillar prints but that is regarded by specialists as among the finest kacho-ga produced in the An'ei period. The careful color registration, blossom-by-blossom modeling, and quiet compositional weight all reflect Koryusai's particular gift for the genre.