The Nature of Utamaro

Meadow Bunting and Domestic Fowl

Bull-headed Shrike and Hawk

Woodpecker and Japanese Grosbeak (Mammemawashi)

As rumours spread
saying that my romance
has rotted away,
I'll be a woodpecker pecking
to pieces their tittle-tattle.
•Shinono Tamawaku•

Gathering shells at ebb tide along Shinagawa Bay

Hoping to pick up a shell
like the one used as a sake cup
at the 'Welling Tide' Inn,
we stroll along the strand
stretching out at ebb tide.
•Yomibito Shirazu•

Grasshopper and Cicada

The feelings of a cold-hearted lover
are like a cicada:
it cries constantly
but never shows its face
•Miwa no Sugikado•

Oh, grasshopper,
if you must cry so loud
as you make love
deep within the wall,
remember, it too has ears!
•Kurabe no Yukisumi•

Red Dragonfly and Locust

Brass dust and mica are sometimes glued to the surface of the paper so that the image shines and sparkles when the lighting or observation angle changes. Blind embossing adds a further dimension of texture and depth that alters when the book is moved. (see below) [and see David Bull's efforts in this regard]

Spider and Evening Cicada

The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge has a flash presentation of three elegant multi-colour woodblock Ukiyo-e books by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) known as 'The Bird Book', 'The Shell Book' and 'The Insect Book'. Just exquisite. The site was developed to compliment an exhibition --- Kachōfūgetsu - the natural world in Japanese prints --- running in the Shiba Gallery until May 17.

The images above are screen captures and the backgrounds have been slightly cleaned.

"Kitagawa Nebsuyoshi [Utamaro] was a prolific Japanese artist who painted all traditional subjects, portraits, landscapes, and court paintings. His paintings were superior in the detail and design of the figures and their appropriate representation of the elegance and prestige of his clients. Utamaro’s color prints were also very famous, and upon introducing these works to the Dutch community in Nagasaki, they developed a reputation throughout Europe." [source]

Ukiyo-e --- Utamaro --- previously

via the ever observant Andrew at gmtPlus9 (-15).