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
Floral design
Woodblock print
Geese in Flight
Woodblock print
Rose Blue V
Aquatint etching
Cyclamen growing in a decorated pot
Woodblock print
Doves
Woodblock print
Scene No. 10 (1)
Woodblock print
Potted Chrysanthyemums
Woodblock print
Camellia
Woodblock print
Three Birds
Woodblock print
Rose Blue I
Aquatint etching
Moon Flower
Woodblock print
Magnolia
Etching with chine colle
Lotus
Mokuhanga on washi
Flowers 2
Woodblock print
Bird, from Signs of Seasons
Woodblock print
Flower Garden
Woodblock print
Orchid 2
Woodblock print
Iris
Woodblock print
The Heron Maiden
Woodblock print
Camellia
Woodblock print
Cosmos
Woodblock print
Chrysanthemums
Woodblock print
The Black Swan
Woodblock print
Egret
Woodblock print
Roses
Woodblock print
Happiness Flower
1907
Color woodcut on ivory Japanese paper
The White Peacock
1914
Color woodcut on paper
my flower no. 1
2023
Woodblock
Bird Standing On A Lotus
2013
Chinese brush painting
Bird & Red Flower #1
Etching
Flower A
1970
Color etching
Flower Pieces VIII
2016
Etching
Flower-C (Calla Lily)
1954
Woodblock print
Rose is Rose
1966
Dry point, Roulette, Engraving
Flower Maiden
1982
Woodblock Print
Blue and Brown Bird
1891
Woodblock print
Black Lily
Woodblock Print
Iris and Dragonfly
Woodblock Print
Heron Maiden
1889
Woodblock
Flower and Bank
2016
Lithograph
My Lily
2020
Acrylic on canvas
Through Autumn light..I follow the secret of the crow's call
2009
Woodblock Print
Asakusa Rose
2022
Collage
Ballast Flower
2025
Stone lithograph with hand colouring
Christmas Rose
2022
Collage
Flower Phrenology
2022
Collage
Bull, Bird, rug
2021
Gouache, monotype
Flower-B
1954
Woodblock print
Narcissus
1954
Woodblock print
Bird Monument, Mask, Bird C, and Work 68-E
Four woodcut prints in colours on wove
Love Flower
1972
Acrylic and oil on canvas
Clematis
1960
Woodblock Print
Iris (Rainbow); Playground (I)
Two color woodcuts (the first with embossing)
Lotus
2010
Color woodcut
La Vie En Rose
1973
Screenprint and collage
Yatsuhashi Bridge in Iris Garden
1911
Woodblock Print
Bird on Flower
1985
Aquatint etching
Bird on Flower
Etching with Aquatint, signed and numbered in pencil
Peacock (oiseau dans l'eau)
1968
Etching
SHORE BIRD
Color Etching
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.