Birds & Flowers Prints (1690)
Birds and flowers (kacho-ga) form one of the three classical subject categories of East Asian painting, alongside landscapes and figures. In Japanese woodblock printmaking, the tradition produced some of the medium's most technically accomplished works, demanding exceptional carving precision for feather details and botanical accuracy. Hokusai's "Small Flowers" series and Hiroshige's bird-and-flower prints of the 1830s established kacho-ga as a major ukiyo-e genre. These works combined natural observation with poetic sensibility, often incorporating verses that amplified the seasonal or emotional associations of their subjects. The surimono tradition — privately commissioned luxury prints — particularly favored bird-and-flower subjects, producing exquisite small-format works with metallic pigments and blind embossing. Shin-hanga artists continued the tradition with renewed naturalistic ambition. Ohara Koson (also known as Shoson) became the genre's most prolific modern practitioner, creating hundreds of bird-and-flower designs that combined scientific observation with decorative elegance. His prints of egrets, crows, and songbirds in atmospheric settings became internationally popular. The genre demands particular technical skill in color gradation and fine-line carving, making kacho-ga prints a showcase for the collaborative craft of designer, carver, and printer.
Artists Known for Birds & Flowers
Eagle Owl
Woodblock print
Orchid - Katoriya
Woodblock print
Asago- The Morning Glory — 朝顔
Woodblock print
Momo chidori kyōka awase (Myriad Birds: A Kyōka Competition)
c. 1790
Woodblock-printed book; ink and color on paper
Tiger Lily
Woodblock print
Jakuchu's Rooster
Aquatint
Abe no Yasuna, Inarinomori no natanenohana (Abe no Yasuna, Colza) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Shizuka Gozen, Yamaji no tsuzumikusa (Shizuka Gozen, Dandelion) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Iris (Ayame)
July 1929
Color woodblock print
Rose - バラ
Woodblock print
Cormorant Island
Woodblock print
Crow on pine branch.
about 1868-1889
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Hinadori, Joshi no momonohana (Hinadori, Peach Blossom) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Kumagai Naozane, Jinzen no ume (Kumagai Naozane, Prunus) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Linked to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry)
Sarumawashi Yojiro, Teizen no sarusuberi (The Monkey Trainer, Yojiro, Crape Myrtle) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park (One Hundred Views of Tokyo, Message to the 21st Century)
東京百景 21世紀へのメッセージ
1989-99
Woodblock print, zinc anastic plate on paper
Niki Naonori, Iwate no tsutsuji (Niki Naonori, Azalea) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Hibiscus
Woodblock print
Girl with sunflower
Woodblock print
'Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains, the God of the Hunt Appears', from Ryuri Hanga Saku
1959
Woodblock print
Blue bird on maple tree (title not original)
Woodblock print
Sandflowers, Shôwa period, dated 1961
Woodblock print
Wisteria at Kameido
亀戸の藤
c. 1925
Color woodblock print
Wisteria Blossoms at Kameido Shrine, Tokyo (Kameido Tenmangu)
1936
Color woodblock print
Heron in the Rain
Shōwa period, circa 1928
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper with embossing
Kingfisher on Snowy Stump
Shōwa period, 1935
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Flower (K52)
Woodblock print
Cormorant — Unotori
Woodblock print
Chrysanthemum
Woodblock print
Hanakawado Sukeroku, Edo zakura (Hanakawado Sukeroku, Edo y Blossom) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Kobayashi no Asahina, Besso no fukujuso (Kobayashi no Asahina, Amur Adonis) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Onoe meshitsukai Ohatsu, Okuniwa no yamabuki (Onoe Servant Ohatsu, Japanese Rose) / Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry))
Plum Blossom
1945
Woodcut print
Camellia
1950
Color woodblock print
Bijin and Peony in Mid-Winter - 寒牡丹美人娘図
Woodblock print
Champagne Rose (La Rose de Champagne)
1940
Color woodblock print
Iris — あやめ
Not set
Woodblock print
Onoe Baiko VII- Wisteria maiden
Woodblock print
A pair of ducks by a lotus pond
1879
Color woodblock print; oban
Mandarin Duck Notebook 1 — 鴛鴦帳
Not set
Woodblock print
Peony
1942
Woodblock print
Admiring wisteria
c. 1801-07
Color woodblock print; ebangire, surimono
Cranes, Rabbits, Morning Glory, Bamboo and Blossom
1820
Heron Maiden (Sagi Musume)
Woodblock print
Sagimusume (The Heron Maiden)
Woodblock print
Wisteria Maiden (Fuji-Musume)
Woodblock print
Blue Parrot
Woodblock print
Blue Parrot (Buryu inko), from the series "Ten Types of Female Nudes (Rajo jusshu)"
1935
Color woodblock print
Picnic under Wisteria Blossoms
Woodblock print
A Flower Seller
1951
Color woodblock print
Warbler on Plum Branch
Woodblock print
Tree Peony (2)
Woodblock print
Sawamura Dantaro as a court lady with fan and iris.
Unknown
Color woodblock print
Carp under wisteria
ca. 1915
Iris Garden at Horikiri (Horikiri no shôbu), from the series Twelve Scenes of Tokyo (Tokyo jûnidai), Shôwa period, dated 1928
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Yellow Iris
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kingfisher on Snowladden Reeds
1912-1936
Color woodblock print
Carnation
1922
Color lithograph
Flower (Hana)
1977
Color intaglio
Secret Of Pink Rose
Aquatint
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Birds and flowers (kacho-ga) form one of the three classical subject categories of East Asian painting, alongside landscapes and figures. In Japanese woodblock printmaking, the tradition produced some of the medium's most technically accomplished works, demanding exceptional carving precision for feather details and botanical accuracy.
Sugiura Kazutoshi, Ohara Koson, and Kimura Yoshiharu are among the artists most associated with birds & flowers in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 1690 prints tagged with birds & flowers, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.