Bird and plum blossoms

戯墨筆　梅花小禽図扇面　一幅　紙本着色　室町時代
KANO style

Bird and flower subjects were a key part of the Kano school repertoire. They reflect the tastes of military patrons with a keen interest in imported Chinese paintings, which included many bird and flower pictures painted by artists at the imperial court. Few details are known about the painter of this fan, but surviving works like this one suggest he was familiar with the style of Kano school founder Motonobu (1476–1559). Popular as fashion accessories, many painted fans survive from the 1500s. Folded, they could be tucked into a robe or sash; spread open, they displayed themes appropriate for a particular season or occasion. In this case a dark-throated warbler perches on a blossoming plum, its beak open in song—a classic image of early spring.

Decades after the fan was painted, the Zen monk Takuan Shuho (1573–1645) embellished it with an inscription:

The fragrant plum adds its color
A lone bird frolics in its spreading branches
Flying from branch to branch
The yellow warbler finally rests among the blossoms.
(Translation by Yoshiko Kakudo)