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
Sparrows
群雀
c. 1900s (late Meiji)
Color woodblock print (kachō-e)
Red-Crowned Crane
丹頂鶴
early 20th century
Brush and ink on paper
Keinen's Album of Birds and Flowers (Keinen kachō gafu) — Summer volume
景年花鳥畫譜 夏之部
1892
Woodblock-printed book; ink and color on paper
River Sparrow and Kuchinashi Flowers (Kawara hiwa kuchinashi), No. 40 from the series Forty-eight Birds Drawn from Life
河原鶸 梔子
1859
Color woodblock print
Flowers of Autumn and Winter
19th century
Six panel screen; ink, colors and gold leaf on paper
Large-Format Flowers (Zōkei Kaben Chō)
造形花弁帖
1923-1929
Three-volume leporello album of color woodblock prints (nishiki-e); published by Yamada Naosaburō, Kyoto
Parody of the Story of Yoritomo Releasing Cranes at Yuigahama
1806
Color woodblock print
Chigusa no Hana, Hatsukoe (The Warbler's First Call, from the series A Thousand Kinds of Flowers)
千種の花・初声
1901
Color woodblock print (nishiki-e)
Cuckoo Flying over Deutzia Flowers
c. 1766
Color woodblock print; chuban
Flowers
花卉図
Before 1882
Watercolor on paper
Large-Format Flowers, Volume One (Zōkei Kaben Chō - jō)
造形花弁帖 上
1923-05-15
Color woodblock leporello album; first of three volumes; published by Yamada Naosaburō, Kyoto
Kiyokawa and Bunshichi, from the series "Elegant Dew of Flowers (Furyu hana no tsuyu)"
風流花の露
c. 1804/30
Color woodblock print
Cranes and Pine Trees in a Landscape
松鶴山水図
late 19th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Large-Format Flowers, Volume Two: Peonies (Zōkei Kaben Chō - ni)
造形花弁帖 二
1926-04-20
Color woodblock leporello album; second of three volumes; twelve double-page peony images; published by Yamada Naosaburō, Kyoto
Flower Market
草市
Shōwa period
Color woodblock print
Red Shino Cylindrical Tea Bowl (Beni-Shino Tsutsu-Chawan)
紅志野筒茶碗
1954
Stoneware with Shino-style glaze (kaolin and ceramic glaze)
Flowers In The Evening - 花の夕べ
Two Owls — 蔦もみじのとまり木
Bowl, scissors, and morning glories
c. 1820
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Wine bottle, bowl, and plum branch, from the series "Two Famous Products from Bizen Province (Bizen meibutsu futashina)"
c. 1823
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Young man arranging irises in a vase
n.d.
Color woodblock print; hashira-e
Owl and Two Swallows
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Flower-Viewing Party with Crest-Bearing Curtain, from the series "Flower Viewing at Ueno (Ueno hanami no tei)"
c. 1681/84
Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e
A Passing Palanquin, from the series "Scenes of Flower-viewing at Ueno (Ueno hanami no tei)"
c. 1681/84
Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e
Honbo, from the series "Scenes of Flower-viewing at Ueno (Ueno hanami no tei)"
c. 1681/84
Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e
A Collection of Flowers and Birds (Kacho zukushi)
Edo period (1615-1868), 1683
Woodblock-printed book, sumizuri-e
Flower Viewing
1711 (reprint of 17th century work)
Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, tan-e
Flower Arranging
c. 1769
Color woodblock print; chuban
Utensils for Tea and a Cake-Bowl
19th century
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Kingfisher on Snowladden Reeds
1912-1936
Color woodblock print
Gathering spring flowers
n.d.
Color woodblock print; nagaban, surimono
The Common Marigold and The Rajoman Flowers
early 19th century
Color woodblock print; surimono
Cock, Hen, and Rising Sun, from the series "Seven Bird-and-flower Prints for the Fuyo Circle of Kanuma in Shimotsuke Province (Yamagawa Shimotsuke Kanuma Fuyo-ren kacho nanaban tsuzuki no uchi)"
c. 1810
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Jurojin with crane and tortoise
18th century
Woodblock print; hashira-e, sumizuri-e
Landscape with Heron and Boat
18th century
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Iris Garden
c. 1781/89
Color woodblock print; oban triptych
Flowers, from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers of the Floating World (Ukiyo setsugekka)"
c. 1784/85
Color woodblock print; oban
Pine and cranes
c. 1830/44
Color woodblock print; section of harimaze sheet
Bird cage and flowers
early 19th century
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Jar, scales and bowl, no. 6 from the series "The Rabbit's Boastful Exploits (Usagi tegarabanashi)"
1819
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Mt. Fuji with Cranes and Fishing Boats
富士に鶴漁舟図
1873
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Large-Format Flowers, Volume Three (Zōkei Kaben Chō - san)
造形花弁帖 三
1926-06-05
Color woodblock leporello album; third of three volumes; ten double-page images of flowers, blossom branches, and autumn trees; published by Yamada Naosaburō, Kyoto
Iris Pavilion (Tokyo)
before 1923
Watercolor on paper
Summer Flowers
夏花図
Edo period (1615–1868)
Folding fan remounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Nuthatch on a Flowering Cherry Tree
桜花鳥図
1873
Album leaf; ink and color on silk
Crane
鶴
1928
Color on silk
Chawan (Watercolor Study of a Tea Bowl)
茶碗（水彩）
27 April 1939
Watercolor on paper
A Collection of Flower and Bird Paintings (Keinen kachō gafu), vol.3 (Autumn)
景年花鳥畫譜 秋之部
1892
Woodblock-printed book; ink and color on paper
Basho's Hut on Camellia Hill Beside the Aquaduct at Sekiguchi, from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
1857
Color woodblock print; oban
Pheasant (Kiji) and Swallows (Tsubame), detached page from the book Myriad Birds: A Kyōka Competition (Momo chidori kyōka awase)
c. 1790 (Kansei 2)
Detached page from woodblock-printed book; ink and color on paper
Literati Painting the Plum Flowers
date unknown
Color woodblock print; surimono
Bird Houses and Plum Branch
date unknown
Color woodblock print; surimono
![Flowers of a Hundred Years: A Frontispiece Illustration [of 1900] (Hyakunen no Hana: Senkyuhyaku-nen no Kuchi-e) by Paul Binnie](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/32add46a27aa73ab6f68c7449562327a.jpg)
Flowers of a Hundred Years: A Frontispiece Illustration [of 1900] (Hyakunen no Hana: Senkyuhyaku-nen no Kuchi-e)
Hanamurasaki of the Kadotamaya, from the series Six Flowery Immortals of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin rokkasen)
c. 1794/95
Color woodblock print; oban
A Selection of Six Flowers - A Parody Rokkasen (Yatsushi rokkasen): Bishop Henjo
c. 1798
Color woodblock print; oban
A Selection of Six Flowers - A Parody Rokkasen (Yatsushi Rokkasen): Ono no Komachi
c. 1798
Color woodblock print; oban
A Long-Tailed Fowl (Onagadori), from the series Twelve Assorted Birds (Shochō jūnikin)
ca. 1791
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Bellflowers (Asagao), from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Asagao)
1789–92
Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Untitled (Girl Holding Pink Flowers)
n.d.
Etching, with watercolor and pastel, on ivory wove paper
Cranes
Monochrome woodblock print; ink 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.