Demoiselle Crane and Reed, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 鍋鶴と葦
by Numata Kashū
- Date:
- 1885
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
聚鳥畫譜 — 鍋鶴と葦
by Numata Kashū
Demoiselle Crane and Reed depicts the anaha-zuru (demoiselle crane, Anthropoides virgo), the smaller, more delicately built relative of the famous tanchō-zuru (red-crowned crane) that dominates the visual iconography of Japanese cranes. The demoiselle crane is a rare migrant in Japan rather than a year-round resident, but its image had entered the kachō-e repertoire as part of the larger "crane" iconography associated with longevity, marital fidelity, and the auspicious associations of the New Year and ceremonial occasions. Kashū's pairing of the crane with marsh reeds locates the plate in the kind of waterside habitat the species favors during its long Eurasian migration, while the composition trades on the long thin diagonal of the reed stems and the crane's tall standing posture for a vertical accent that the album uses sparingly. The plate is one of several in the Shūchō gafu (1885) in which Kashū's careful natural-history accuracy intersects with the older symbolic-decorative tradition of the Japanese bird-and-flower print.
聚鳥畫譜 — 鵯と柊
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
聚鳥畫譜 — 鵯と浜茄子
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
聚鳥畫譜 — 蒿雀と葦
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
聚鳥畫譜 — 鷲と荒海
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Demoiselle Crane and Reed, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu) (聚鳥畫譜 — 鍋鶴と葦) was created by Numata Kashū (沼田荷舟) in 1885.
Demoiselle Crane and Reed, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu) depicts birds & flowers.
