Night Heron

A night heron — most likely the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Japan's most common nocturnal wader — stands or moves in low light, its stocky form and large reddened eyes distinguishing it from the more elegant egrets and herons that populate Koson's catalog. The night heron's nocturnal habits made it a natural subject for his moonlit and evening compositions, and its compact, hunched posture gave him a distinctly different formal problem from the tall, upright wading birds.