Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds
by Ohara Koson
- Date:
- Shōwa period, dated to 1931
- Medium:
- Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Shōson"
- Format:
- Oban
by Ohara Koson
Koson's bird-and-flower prints are his most numerous and accessible works — he designed ~450 prints total. Common subjects in average condition remain widely available. Quality of impression, color fidelity, and publisher seal (Kokkeido preferred over Watanabe) are the key value drivers.
Two ducks swim among the reeds at the lake's edge, the 1931 Showa-period date and the Shoson signature marking this as a late, assured work. The horizontal reed stalks create a compositional rhythm behind the birds, the water's surface rendered with the bokashi gradation that gives Koson's aquatic scenes their characteristic depth. The ducks' movement through the water is suggested rather than frozen — a few ripples, the slight forward tilt of the body — the whole scene poised in a moment of unhurried natural life.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds was created by Ohara Koson (小原古邨) in Shōwa period, dated to 1931.
Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds uses Bokashi, on woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "shōson".
Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (Shōwa period, dated to 1931).
Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds depicts landscapes.
Ducks Swimming under Lakeside Reeds measures 39.5 × 26 cm (Oban format).
