Japan Art and Birds: Blue Tit, Kingfisher, Mejiro, and Owl

Japan Art and Birds: Blue Tit, Kingfisher, Mejiro, and Owl

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

All four art pieces focus on birds – this concerns the blue tit, kingfisher, mejiro (white-eye), and owl. However, the artists come from different periods. Hence, the art above is by the contemporary artist Sawako Utsumi.

The other two artists were born during the revolutionary Meiji Period (1868-1912). This applies to Ohara Koson (1877-1945), who also used the names Ohara Hōson and Ohara Shōson – and Takahashi Biho, who was born in 1873 (sadly, little is known about him – including when he died).

The mejiro bird by Sawako Utsumi and the owl by Takahashi Biho vary greatly. This concerns habitat, activity during the day, food, size, and color.

Takahashi Biho and Ohara Koson produced stunning kacho-e (Kacho-ga). This concerns birds and flowers – and related areas.

The print above by Ohara Koson is also a favorite bird of Sawako Utsumi (who adores birdwatching).

The Toledo Museum says, “Ohara Koson was a master of the kacho-ga print—images of the natural world, but particularly of birds and flowers. Over his career, he produced more than 450 designs of birds. Typically his images were not of exotic species, but of birds that were commonly seen in Japan… Koson’s aim was to balance a naturalistic portrayal of his subjects with a decorative sensibility—and a desire to convey the spirit of the birds he depicted.”