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
Lin Hejing (Rin Nasei) with Crane
19th century
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Heron Maiden
鷺娘
early 20th century (1900–1930)
Color woodblock print; ōban
Spirit of the Heron (Shirasagi no sei), Taishō period
白鷺の精 (大正期)
Taishō period, c. 1918
Color woodblock print
Grey Starling and Cercidiphyllum Japonicum (Katsura), from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 椋鳥と桂
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
White-Fronted Goose, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 真雁
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
A Beauty with red plum flowers
Horse beneath a Flowering Plum Tree
c. 1797/99
Color woodblock print; long surimono
An Eagle in a Snowstorm
Cuckoo
Geese in Snow
Monkey Reaching for Moon
White Herons & Willow
![Girl Riding a Crane (parody of Hi Chobo [Chinese: Fei Zhangfang]) by Suzuki Harunobu](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1582071e-b00f-e77e-6870-0b09bf2c781e/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Girl Riding a Crane (parody of Hi Chobo [Chinese: Fei Zhangfang])
c. 1766/67
Color woodblock print; chuban
The Actor Onoe Kikugoro V as the Priest Sogen (Yuki: Iwakura Sogen Onoe Baiko), from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka no uchi)"
1890
Color woodblock prints; oban triptych
Chinese Bell Flowers
c. 1830s
Color woodblock print; tanzaku
Begonias of Mount Ashigara (Ashigarayama no shukaido): Bando Hikosaburo V as Yamauba, from the series "Contemporary Versions of Thirty-six Selected Flowers (Tosei mitate sanjurokkasen)"
1862
Color woodblock print; chirimen-e
Women Visiting the Bird and Flower Teahouse (Kachojaya)
c. 1792/93
Color woodblock print; center sheet of oban triptych
Eaves Decorated with Irises for the Tango Festival
1867
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Quail and Autumn Flowers
second half of 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Heron Girl (Sagi musume)
鷺娘
Taishō era, 20th century
Color woodblock print
Reed-Bunting and Reed, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 蒿雀と葦
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Siskin and Euonymus Alata, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 真鶸と錦木
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Japanese Jungle Nightjar, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 夜鷹
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Bird Cage and Potted Plum
1804
Color woodblock print; surimono
Peonies and Iris
18th–19th century
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Various Spring Flowers, from the series "Springtime Plants and Trees for the Kasumi Poetry Circle of the Yomo Group (Yomogawa Kasumi-ren haru no kusaki no uchi)"
c. 1820
Color woodblock print; shikishiban sheet from an album, surimono
Child Reaching for a Fishbowl
c. mid 1720s
hand-colored woodblock print
Birds of Paradise
Crickets In Rice
geese flying
Japanese Waxwing
Kurenai, Red Flower
Herons in Rainy Night
Pulling a Flower Cart
c. 1765/70
Color woodblock print; chuban
Woman Holding a Branch of Kerria Flowers in the Rain (parody of Ota Dokan)
c. 1766/67
Color woodblock print; chuban
Seitei kacho gafu 省亭花鳥画譜 (Seitei's Birds and Flowers Painting Manual)
Flowers and Birds (Peaches and Cranes)
桃に鶴図
19th century (mid-Meiji)
Album of twelve leaves; ink and color on silk
Brown-eared Bulbul and Rosa Rugosa, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 鵯と浜茄子
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Japanese Golden Eagle and Dark Blue Sea, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 鷲と荒海
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Japanese Bunting and Plum Tree, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 野路子と梅
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Flowers and Women (Hana to onna)
花と女
1979
Linen portfolio of five woodblock prints on paper; each sheet 51.0 × 35.0 cm; mica and gofun on selected sheets; numbered 192/250
Cherry Blossoms in Spring, from the series "Choicest Odes upon Flowers of the Four Seasons (Shuku awase, shiki no hana)"
c. 1792
Color woodblock print; chuban
Courtesans in an Iris Garden
late 18th century
Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Freshly-Picked Flowers in a Traveler’s Hat, illustration for "The Thousand-grasses Shell," from the series A Matching Game with Genroku-period Poem Shells (Genroku kasen kai awase)"
1821
Color woodblock print; surimono shikishiban
Rose, Iris, Primrose and Daisy
1815
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Egret in Rain
1928
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with embossing
Bird and Insect
Courtesan
Flying Geese and Reeds
Harvest Fox Spirit (messenger of Inari, god of the crops)
Mandarin Ducks in Snow
Moon Cherry Blossoms
Swans & Reeds
Small-horned owl, pine, and crescent moon
1830s
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku
Lady Murasaki Sets a Bird Free from a Cage
19th century
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Cherry Flowers
19th century
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Heron
second half of 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Golden Pheasant and Flower of Japanese Quince, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 錦鶏と木瓜
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Demoiselle Crane and Reed, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 鍋鶴と葦
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color on paper
Eastern Whimbrel and Wisteria Vine, from Pictorial Monograph of Birds (Shūchō gafu)
聚鳥畫譜 — 中杓鷸と藤
1885
Color woodblock print from a book; ink and color 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.