96 Ohara Koson 1877 – 1945 Hummingbird and Peas

publisher: Daikokuya (Matsuki Heikichi)

An early kachō-e design by Ohara Koson, depicting a hummingbird hovering delicately beside a slender pea vine in bloom. Rendered with exquisite simplicity, the composition conveys a sense of weightless grace and the fleeting beauty of nature. This print belongs to Koson’s pre-shin-hanga period, when he refined his distinctive approach to natural subjects under the publisher Daikokuya (Matsuki Heikichi).

The work exemplifies the quiet lyricism and painterly subtlety that would define his mature style and secure his place among the masters of modern Japanese bird-and-flower prints.