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Artist BioLabel
Ohara Shôson was a master of early 20th-century kacho-e, bird and flower pictures. He began producing woodblock prints in 1905, and fluctuated between working in painting and prints. He signed his prints using three different names throughout his career, each indicating what publisher he was working with at the time. He first signed his name as Kôson, and switched to Shôson in 1926 when he began creating designs for the extremely influential publisher Watanabe Shôzaburô. He also worked with the publisher Kawaguchi, signing his name as Hôson.Label Type
Object LabelLabel
The background of this print exemplifies the color gradation that was popular in Japanese woodblock printing. Gradients were achieved by first dampening the area of the block where the gradient was to be printed, placing spots of ink at intervals along the edge where the densest color would be, and then gently spreading the ink across the moistened area to dilute the color. Next, the paper would be placed on the block and the printer would work a baren (a disk-like hand tool with a flat bottom and handle) across the back to cause the ink to absorb. The process of achieving a smooth gradation took great skill, so it was only done by the top printers.