Flower and bird painting - Kachoga

A traditional subject of Oriental painting. Flowers and birds are often depicted in natural scenery, and many of these remain, along with landscapes and portraits. In China, flower and bird paintings were mostly created during the Tang dynasty, and by the Five Dynasties period that followed, they had already split into two styles. The first was the "Huangshi style" with clear lines and dark colors, started by Huang Quan of Shu, and the second was the "Xu style" with ink and water, mainly with the addition of light colors, started by Xu Xi of Jiangnan. After that, during the Song and Yuan dynasties, these two schools were integrated and developed in the Painting Academy, and many masters were produced, including Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, Li Di, Li Anzhong, Qian Shunju of the Yuan dynasty, and Lu Ji of the Ming dynasty.

In Japan, paintings of flowers and birds are often seen as background for picture scrolls, but it was towards the end of the Kamakura period that they began to be featured as independent subjects on large screens such as folding screens and sliding doors. Unfortunately, there are no surviving pieces from that time, but many folding screens, sliding doors, and wooden doors with these paintings can be seen in picture scrolls. In the Muromachi period that followed, full-scale flower and bird paintings from the Song and Yuan dynasties were also imported, and under their influence, bird and flower paintings gradually showed signs of becoming popular, from Shubun and Oguri Sotan to Sesshu. The Kinpeki flower and bird paintings established by the Kano school in the Momoyama period inherited these Chinese-style flower and bird paintings with strong ink-wash elements and combined them with Yamato-e elements. These paintings are worthy of being called gorgeous and magnificent, and reached their peak during this period, being a perfect expression of the spirit of the times. After this, bird-and-flower paintings became very popular, incorporating a variety of styles and content, including those of the Tosa and Rin schools, the Maruyama and Shijo schools, literati painting, and even Western-style painters, and their long history continues to the present day. In addition, fields derived from bird-and-flower paintings include insect paintings and hair-drawings (depicting livestock and poultry), and in Japan these are also referred to as bird-and-flower paintings.

[Satoru Sakakibara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

東洋画の伝統的画題。花や鳥のたたずまい、またその遊ぶさまを多くは自然の景のなかに描いたもので、山水・人物画とともにその遺品も多い。中国では、花鳥画はほぼ唐代におこり、続く五代には早くも二つのスタイルに分かれる。蜀(しょく)の黄筌(こうせん)が始めた明確な線描と濃彩による「黄氏(こうし)体」と、江南の徐煕(じょき)が創始した水墨を主に淡彩を加えた「徐氏体」との2種である。以後、宋(そう)・元(げん)代にはこの2流が画院で総合されて発達し、宋の徽宗(きそう)皇帝、李迪(りてき)、李安忠(りあんちゅう)、元の銭舜挙(せんしゅんきょ)、明(みん)の呂紀(りょき)など多くの名手が輩出した。

　日本でも花や鳥を描くことは、絵巻などの添景にしばしばみられるが、これが独立した画題として屏風(びょうぶ)や襖(ふすま)などの大画面に取り上げられるようになるのは、鎌倉時代も末期であろう。残念ながら当時の遺品はないが、絵巻のなかには、これが描かれた屏風、襖、杉戸などが多く見受けられる。これに続く室町時代になると、宋・元の本格的な花鳥画も輸入され、これらの影響のもと、周文、小栗宗湛(おぐりそうたん)から雪舟を経て、花鳥画はしだいに流行の兆しをみせる。これら水墨的要素の強い漢画系花鳥画を受け継ぎつつ、これに大和絵(やまとえ)的要素を結合させたのが桃山時代の狩野(かのう)派によって確立された金碧(きんぺき)の花鳥画である。それらは豪華絢爛(けんらん)とよぶにふさわしく、この時代に全盛を極め、まさしく時代精神の端的な表現といってよいであろう。こののち、花鳥画は、土佐派や琳(りん)派の作家をはじめ、円山(まるやま)・四条派、文人画、さらには洋風画の人々までを含め、さまざまなスタイル、さまざまな内容を盛り込んで大いに流行し、その長い歴史は現在にまで及んでいる。なお、花鳥画から派生した分野に、草虫画と翎毛(れいもう)画（家畜や家禽(かきん)を描いたもの）があるが、日本ではこれをも含めて花鳥画とよんでいる。

［榊原　悟］

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