Wagtail and Lotus

Date:: c. 1900–1945
Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Publisher:: Watanabe Shozaburo
Edition:: Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
Source:: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

Typical Price

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.

Later posthumous reprints: $100–$400
Good lifetime impressions: $400–$2,000
Outstanding impressions with superb color: $2,000–$6,000

Description

"Wagtail and Lotus" is a shin-hanga nature study by Ohara Koson, created during the Meiji to Showa periods. This work belongs to the kacho-e (bird-and-flower) tradition, one of the most celebrated genres in Japanese art.

Ohara Koson brings characteristic sensitivity to this naturalistic subject, combining precise observation with poetic atmosphere. The composition balances the living subjects with their environment, creating a scene that feels both scientifically accurate and emotionally resonant.

The technical execution reveals the sophisticated printmaking tradition behind this image — from the precise registration of multiple color blocks to the subtle gradations that give depth and luminosity to the natural subjects.

This print represents Ohara Koson's contribution to the shin-hanga tradition during the Meiji to Showa periods. As with all works by this artist, it reflects both individual artistic vision and the broader cultural moment in which it was created. For collectors and admirers of Japanese printmaking, it offers a window into the sophisticated aesthetic world that produced some of the most beloved images in art history.