Rats and Root Vegetables

Two rats — among the most intelligent and resourceful creatures in Japanese folk symbolism, associated with the god Daikoku — pick their way among burdock root and daikon in this intimate still-life composition. Shotei's kacho-e (flower-and-bird) sensibility extends naturally to these small mammal studies, where the creatures are rendered with the same precise naturalism applied to birds and insects. The composition's intimacy, a cluster of vegetables observed close-up, gives the print a freshness that elevates it above decorative formula.