Imao Keinen
The Four Seasons Bird and Flower Albums (Keinen Kacho Gafu)

original antique Japanese woodblock prints from circa 1885-1891

Original antique Japanese woodblock prints over 130 years old.

Imao Keinen (1845–1924)

Born in Kyoto in 1845, Imao Keinen studied painting and calligraphy with Umegata Tokyo and Suzuki Hyakunen. He taught at the Kyoto Prefecture School of Painting, and exhibited in shows in Japan and Paris. One of the most well-known Japanese painters of his time, he became a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household in 1904 and the Imperial Art Academy in 1919, both great honors. Keinen earned lasting fame for his beautiful bird and flower designs, or kacho-ga, painted with wonderful lifelike detail.

The Four Seasons Bird and Flower Albums (Keinen Kacho Gafu)

Keinen's most famous work, Keinen Kacho Gafu, is a stunning four-part work of woodblock prints of birds and flowers in the four seasons. Published in 1885-1891, these woodblocks are full oban vertical subjects in a natural soft color palette. Featuring stunning large birds and beautiful small songbirds against scenery like blossoming cherry branches or snow-covered trees, these are exceptional nature prints from the late 19th century. The birds are naturalistically presented in their native habitat, featuring beautiful Japanese plants and flowers. The series was published by Nishimura Soemon in four volumes of forty prints each, with the blocks carved by Tanaka Hirokichi and printed by Miki Jinzaburo.