Birds & Flowers Prints (1639)
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
Birds and sun
Woodblock print
Chrysanthemums
Woodblock print
Oystercatchers
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; koban
Homing Geese
Woodblock print
A pair of mandarin ducks, c.1935
Woodblock print
Calla 8
Silkscreen
Four Crows
Woodblock print
Calla in Blue
Silkscreen
Calla in Blue 3
Silkscreen
Calla in Green 4
Silkscreen
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Calla in Green 5
Silkscreen
Lotus
Silkscreen
Lotus 2
Silkscreen
Camelias
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Lotus Flower 5
Silkscreen
White Lotus Flower 3
Silkscreen
July First 5
Silkscreen
Soshu Umezawa hidari / Fugaku Sanju Rokkei
Woodblock print
Fly Away (B)
Woodblock print
Lilies with bees
Woodblock print
Untitled (tekiho-imoto)
Woodblock print
Macaw on a pine branch
c. 1835
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Primrose
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Untitled (tekiho-imoto)
Woodblock print
Tekiho, Imoto
Woodblock print
Shunkokucho
Woodblock print
Bean Flowers
2001
Mezzotint
Bird with Camellia
2001
Mezzotint
Bird on Branch
2004
Mezzotint
Owl with Flowers
2005
Mezzotint
Ducks
1920
Woodblock print
Lavender Flower Basket
2006
Mezzotint
Mellon Blossoms in Moonlight
2006
Mezzotint
7668
Woodblock print
Ogata Gekko
Woodblock print
Yukitori No Yoru
Woodblock print
Untitled (soseki-komori)
Woodblock print
Akai Mi (Red Fruits)
Woodblock print
Gladiolus
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Untitled (hodo-nishimura)
Woodblock print
Two Egrets
Woodblock print
Cycloment
Woodblock print
Red Peonies
Woodblock print
Roses
Woodblock print
Moor Hen
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Hawks
Woodblock print
Forsythia
Woodblock print
Oleander
Woodblock print
Untitled (kimura-yoshiharu)
Woodblock print
Two Ducks
1920 (Taishō 9), 8th month
Modern Japanese woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Birds' Wake
1985
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Riverside
1916
Woodblock print
May — 其五藤見
1898
Woodblock print
Flowers 11
Woodblock print
Wild Lilies
Mixed media
Buttercups
1983
Woodblock print; watercolor on French paper
Myōga
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
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 1639 prints tagged with birds & flowers, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.