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
Enjoy Life Among the Lotus Flower
2013
Chinese brush painting
Lotus in Summer
2013
Chinese brush painting
The Lotus Pond #1
2013
Chinese brush painting
White Lotus and Red Lotus
2013
Chinese brush painting
Blue Bird and Red Flower
Etching
”Pigeon in Flight and Blossoming Cherry Tree”
1931
Ink, paper
ROOSTER AND CHICKS
Woodblock print, nishiki-e
Water stream and Chrysanthemum
2018
Ink on Paper
Peony Flowers at Hasedera Temple
Woodblock Print
Early Plum Blossom
Nihonga (natural mineral pigments) on silk / Hanging Scroll
Sea (Hawk)
2017
Newspaper, Ink Stick, Acrylic Paint
Bloom
Wood engraving and handset letterpress text
Nature_Fragrant Bloom
2024
Woodcut
Camellias and Sparrows in Falling Snow
Woodblock print
Sparrows on Bamboo Branch
c. 1781–1806
Woodblock print (sumizuri-e), ink on paper
Myriad Birds: A Kyoka Competition (Momo chidori kyoka awase)
Woodblock print
Birds and Fish
Woodblock print
Tree of Knowledge
1977
Color silkscreen; edition 14/32
Unknown children, birds
Not set
Woodblock print
Blue birds and maple
Not dated (1930's)
Woodblock print
Persimmon and Birds
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Egret in rain
Woodblock print
Hokusai Reborn: A Bevy of Birds
2024
Woodblock print
Crane Fly Mandala
2005
Mokuhanga
Actor as Young Man with a Striped Cowl
Woodblock print
Katsuko, holding a rooster
Woodblock print
Birds Dance
Woodblock print
A Fowl Couple Bathing in Sand
Woodblock print
Birch Wood, Cranes' Hometown
Woodblock print
Bird and Persimmons
Woodblock print
Sparrows and Bamboo
Woodblock print
Sparrows and Bamboo
Woodblock print
Cranes in the Wetland
Woodcut
Egrets in Rain
雨中白鷺
c. 1926
Color woodblock print
Birds on a Branch
1871
Watercolor on paper
Small Bird - LE
Woodblock print
Child and Birds
Woodblock print
Yellow Bird
Woodblock print
Owl
Woodblock print
Two owls
Woodblock print
Cranes
Woodblock print
Owls
Woodblock print
Mitate No.46 - Tea Bowl (Cha-wan)
2001
Fruit tree and birds
Woodblock print
The Firebird
2018
Japanese Paper, Sumi-Ink
Boy and Rooster, Shôwa period, dated 1957
Woodblock print
Five White Egrets
1926
Woodblock Print
"Snipes and Reeds," 1926 and "Wild Ducks and Pampas Grass"
Two woodblocks in colors (framed separately)
"Bird's Nest"
Woodblock print
Scene of Flying Ducks — Sabukamo Tobu Fuukei
Woodblock print
Bird
Woodblock print
The Note of A Cuckoo
Woodblock print
Sacred Crane D, LE
Woodblock print
Sacred Crane
Woodblock print
The Big Owl
Woodblock print
Small Bird - oban
Woodblock print
Girl and bird- binary
Woodblock print
Sacred Crane E- LE
Woodblock print
Sacred Crane- LE
Woodblock print
Bowl of Cherries
Mezzotint in colors 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.