UTAGAWA Hiroshige's Kacho-ga (Bird-and-flower prints)

While UTAGAWA Hiroshige is famous for his landscapes of celebrated spots, he also produced a vast number of kacho-ga (bird-and-flower prints). He is said to have created hundreds of such works, most in the tanzaku (narrow vertical strip) format. A hallmark of Hiroshige's kacho-ga is his dynamic depiction of birds; even in static images, he captures the vitality of flight in birds like swallows, kingfishers, and plovers. His compositions are diverse, showing birds at the moment they land on branches, some with upturned tails facing toward the ground and others hanging upside down.