Edo birds

Hyakkacho zu is also called Hyakucho zu (Pictures of One Hundred Birds). Yu Sheng (known in Japan as Yu Zengsan), after receiving a commission from the Kangxi emperor of Qing China, painted these 100 pictures of birds. The work came to Japan in 1737. It was heavily used to identify Chinese birds with their Japanese equivalents, and it is frequently cited in Kanbun kinpu (Textual Encyclopedia of Birds), the best bird manual of the Edo period.

This work is a collection of lifelike paintings of birds by Mori Baien (1798-1851), an artist and naturalist of the late Edo period. Most of the paintings are realistic images noted for their lifelike accuracy and striking beauty. The author, Mori Baien, was a medicinal herbalist who worked in the Shoinban (castle guards) in the Edo Shogunate. He painted many natural history paintings that appeared in such works of his as Baien somokukafu (Baien’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of Plant and Tree Flowers) and Baien yufu (Baien’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of Fish).

Illustrated descriptions of 61 species of edible birds written by Fukuyama domain physician Mori Risshi (1807-1885) and drawn by painter and naturalist Hattori Sessai (b. 1807). The title of this work is 華鳥譜 in Japanese. The preface explains that the first character of this title, 華, consists of six instances of the character 十 (ten) and one instance of the character 一 (one), for a total of 61. The character thus indicates that 61 birds were illustrated and explained. It is unknown when Hattori Sessai died, but he is known to have been active during the Meiji period (1868-1912). He also illustrated the pictorial encyclopedias Mokuhachifu (Illustrated Shell Book), Hangyofu (Pictorial Encyclopedia of 81 Fish), and Senchufu (Illustrated Book of 1,000 Insects).

Written and compiled by Yashiro Hirokata (1758-1841), a secretary for the Tokugawa shogunate, together with Kurimoto Tanshu (1765-1834), this illustrated book about birds contains 40 figures. Yashiro was considered one of the leading book collectors of the Edo period, and his library, located on the banks of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno, Edo, was called the Shinobazu Bunko.

This collection of 271 bird illustrations was drawn by Makino Sadamoto (1787-1826), lord of the Kasama Domain in Hitachi Province. He is believed to have finished this work around 1810. In addition to this work, Sadamoto also gave us Kusabana shasei (Lifelike Paintings of Flowering Plants).

A set of scrolls of bird paintings made by Mashiyama Masakata (1754-1819), also known as Mashiyama Sessai, lord of Nagashima Domain in Ise Province. After his retirement, Masakata studied medical herbalism and, through his association with Kimura Kenkado and other friends, learned painting. He gave us detailed painting of flowers and birds, and is known for his lifelike paintings of insects in Churui emaki (Insect Picture Scrolls).

This work of 62 paintings was painted by an unknown artist. In the painting “Korean Mandarin Ducks,” an annotation states, “This painting, stored by Lord Hotta of Settsu Province, arrived in the lunar Eighth Month 1824.” This statement suggests that Lord Hotta Masaatsu of Settsu Province was somehow involved in the creation of this work.