Utsushi RINSAI, kacho-ga, Oiseaux et fleurs variés, ca 1881. Oban style. 36 X 24 cm, Median folds, print glued on mulberry paper, in brightly fresh colors. Rare bucolic subject on Japanese flora and birds in their natural environment. Fresh condition extra shipping care. Rinsai Utsushi: 'Kacho-ga' -- the depiction of birds and flowers -- was one of the three traditional subjects of Chinese painting. Japanese woodblock masters thoroughly explored this field with the great Utamaro leading the way in the late eighteenth century.The nineteenth century, however, witnessed the finest and most diverse Kacho-ga (Kacho-e), with numerous contributions by both Hokusai and Hiroshige. Later, with the Meiji era (1868 - 1912) found one of its most perfect vehicles of interpretation in its dramatic bird and flower woodcuts. Such fine artists of the era, such as Zeshin, Imao Keinen, Watanabe Seitei and Rinsai Utsushi dedicated much of their oeuvre to the art of Kacho-ga. Practically all his art was dedicated to the study of the natural world. Most of his woodcuts were created in series form and bound into a 'gafu' (picture album), 'Ehon' (picture book), also known as, woodblock-printed book, hence the centre crease in this original example. This woodcut hails from his largest and most famous set of Kacho-ga, published in Edo in 1880. The spectacular colouration and detailing of these large woodcuts have long made these original woodcuts to be among the most prized examples of late nineteenth century Japanese art. It depicts a Pheasant by a Mountain Stream overlooking a mountain landscape in the distance.