Gacho ni Yoshi (Geese and Reeds), 1928
Ohara Shoson (1877-1945) was born in Kanazawa in the North of Japan. His given name was Ohara Matao, but he adopted the name of his teacher, Suzuki Koso. Later in his career he changed his name to Shonon and Hoson. He is best known for kacho-e, prints of birds and flowers. Much of his work was exported because his subject matter and style appealed to the Western market. All of these early exported prints were signed “Koson” and most of them were published by Kokkeido and Daikokuya. Ohara Shoson’s kacho-e always contained a high degree of craftsmanship including carefully executed details.
During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Ohara Shoson produced a few senso-e, war prints. With the large use of photography which replaced the woodblock print as a more effective way to illustrate current events, these prints were not very successful.
Iris, c.1930
It is probable that Ohara Shoson devoted all his time to painting during the years 1911 and 1926, but in 1926 he returned to kacho-e. Most of the prints from this period were exported to the United States. Also at this time, Shoson taught at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
Uchu ni Sagi (Heron in Rain), 1898
Ohara Shoson reached his peak as a printmaker in the mid 1930’s, which was greatly influenced by the 1930 and 1936 Toledo Museum exhibitions. He sold more prints than any other artist shown, largely due to the fact that they were sold for one-quarter of the price of his fellow artists because of their artistic and decorative nature. In his life, it is estimated Shoson produced over 450 designs of birds.