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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
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Kacho-e is a subgenre of ukiyo-e that focuses primarily on the study of birds and flowers. While many Western artists depicted wildlife for the purpose of description and classification, kacho-e artists were concerned with the experience and emotion associated with seeing these subjects in nature. Shôson was one of the great masters of this trend, and this print depicts a snow-covered red Nanten bush and vibrant blue Flycatcher birds.