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
Flower carriage
Woodblock print
Flower Seller and Woman Arranging Flowers
Woodblock print
Hat with tree peony
Woodblock print
Peony Hat (Botan-gasa), from the series Beauties Matched with Flowers (Bijin hana kurabe)
Woodblock print
The Orchid
Woodblock print
The Spring Flower Garden
Woodblock print
Two ladies watching chrysanthemum flowers in the gardens
Woodblock print
Yellow rose
Woodblock print
Crow
Woodblock print
Cosmos - Scene A-1
2023
Etching
Cosmos - Scene A-11
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-13
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-14
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-16
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-17
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-18
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-19
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-2
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-21
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-22
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-23
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-24
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-25
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-3
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-4
2023
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Cosmos - Scene A-9
2023
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Cold Camellia
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cold Camellia Road (triptych)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cosmos Field
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bird Land
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Blue Bird
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Tenjin Bridge - Wisteria
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris 71
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris 78
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Magnolia 2
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Magnolia 3
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Wisteria 1
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Ancient Capital - Camellia
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Mount Fuji and Camellia
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Red Camellia
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bloom
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Chrysanthemum No. 6
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cosmos No. 6
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cosmos No. 7
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cosmos No. 8
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Cosmos No. 9
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris No. 151
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris No. 156
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris No. 161
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris No. 167
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Peony No. 28
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Peony No. 29
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Peony No. 30
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Rose No. 7
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Rose No. 10
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Camellia (761)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Lotus (3)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
White Lotus Flower-(4)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
White Flower-(Calla8)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
White Flower-(Calla7)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
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.