A Hawk Capturing a Crane in Flight

This vertical o-oban tan-e from circa 1715 depicts a hawk seizing a crane in midair, the two birds rendered in dramatic counterpoint against the print's tall vertical field. Hawks were prized symbols of martial power in Tokugawa-era Japan, associated with the falconry traditions of the samurai class, and they appear repeatedly in Kiyomasu I's output. The image transposes the Torii school's bold linear vocabulary, developed for actor portraits, onto a kacho (bird-and-flower) subject, with the same swelling outlines and emphatic contrasts of value applied to the predator and its prey. Hand-applied tan pigment enriches the plumage and contextual details. The print stands as evidence of the breadth of Kiyomasu I's practice beyond the theater. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this print.