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
Peony
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Peony
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Camellia at the waterside
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Heron
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Fishing boat and green bird
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Wisteria Maiden - Fuji Musume
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bird's eye view of Kobe
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
The Iris Season
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Blue flower
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
If you sit with chickens you won't fly like an eagle
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Flower
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Flower calendar
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Owl in a fairy-tale landscape
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Owl
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Flower
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Small bird
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Small bird on desktop
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Flower and ripple marks
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Amabe tulip fields
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
White heron castle
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Tree peony
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Iris
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bridge and lotus pond
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bird gazing
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Bird in a pond
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
A red owl
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Owl in the night
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Sun and small bird
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Leaving bird and resting bird
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
The Actor Ichikawa Yaozo III as the Sparrow Seller Bunji Yasukata (Sandai-me Ichikawa Yaozo no suzume uri Bunji Yasukata)
1794 (Kansei 6)
Color woodblock print; hosoban, nishiki-e
A Flower Vendor
1751/64
Color woodblock print; oban, benizuri-e
Actor Ichikawa Danzô III as Narukami in “Bird of the Capital: Komachi of the East” (“Miyakodori azuma Komachi”)
About 1768
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Carrying a Lantern Decorated with a Pavilion, Gohei, Flowers, and Fan (Sekiguchi-cho Rosoku-cho no banto), from the series "The Festival of the Kanda Shrine (Kanda go-sairei)"
1779
Color woodblock print; chuban, nishiki-e
Takashima, from the series "A Collection of Flower-like Faces of Beauties (Bijin kagan shu)"
late 18th/early 19th century
Color woodblock print; oban
Potted Violets: Jiraiya (Tsubo sumire, Jiraiya), from the series "Contemporary Parodies of the Thirty-six Selected Flowers (Tosei mitate sanjurokkasen)"
1862
Color woodblock print; oban
Goten Hill (Goten-yama), from the series "Flower Viewing in Edo (Edo hanami tsukushi)"
c. 1820s
Color woodblock print; oban
Harvesting the Flower by the Water, or Inaose, from the series "The Story of Three Birds (Sanchoden)"
19th century
Color woodblock print; surimono
Arranged Flowers for New Year
19th century
Color woodblock print; surimono
Feeding the Myriad Bird (Momochidori), from the series "The Story of Three Birds (Sanchoden)"
19th century
Color woodblock print; surimono
New Year’s Flower Arrangement
c. 1820s
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; shikishiban, surimono
Flowers of Yamashita (Yamashita hana), from the series "Contest of Contemporary Beauties (Tosei bijin iro kurabe)"
late 1780s
Color woodblock print; oban
"Refined Elegance in the Four Seasons" (Shiji seiga), Album of Flower Paintings
四時清雅
1844
Album of twelve leaves; ink on paper
Preparatory drawings for Flowers of a Hundred Worlds (Momoyogusa): God of Thunder (Raijin)
百々世草下絵 雷神
1909
Drawing on tracing paper; ink and color
Flowering Tree at a Temple
寺院花木図
ca. 1880–1890
Color woodblock print
Interior with Flower Arrangement, from The Flowers of Japan and the Art of Floral Arrangement
日本花譜・挿花の図
1891
Color woodblock-printed book illustration; ink and color on paper
Man Strolling with a Boy Carrying Flowering Branch
c. 1810
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Japonica, Bell Flowers, and Anemone
1755
Woodblock-printed book illustration; ink on paper
Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 3: Marsh-tits and Crab Apple Flowers
ca. 1820
Privately published woodblock prints (surimono) mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 3: Sparrows and Dandelions
ca. 1820
Privately published woodblock prints (surimono) mounted in an album; ink and color on paper
Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons
四季花鳥
1917
Color pigments on silk; set of four hanging scrolls (kakejiku)
Irises and Moth
ca. 1850
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Cranes (pair of screens, left panel)
群鶴図屏風 (左隻)
early 20th century
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper
Nymphs (Birds and Flowers)
20th century
Color woodblock print
Bird (Tori)
Flowers and Birds
花鳥図
before 1944
Gouache on paper; hanging scroll
Irises
mid-1850s
Diptych of hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk
Sparrow
雀
c. 1900s (late Meiji)
Color woodblock print (kachō-e)
Cranes (pair of screens, right panel)
群鶴図屏風 (右隻)
early 20th century
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper
Flowers, Birds
1953
Color woodblock print
Sparrows Flocking to Rice Plants
稲穂に群雀
before 1944
Ink, color, and gold on silk; hanging scroll
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.