Projects / Vintage Inspiration / Japanese Animal Drawings of Tachibana Morikuni

Japanese Animal Drawings of Tachibana Morikuni

Tachibana Morikuni (橘守国, 1679-1748) was a Japanese artist and printmaker who worked in Osaka as part of the Kanō school. He is included in early examples of gafu -- collections of images -- first published in Osaka and drawing heavily from Chinese styles and printing technology. Below, I have included several images from his drawing manual, Ehon shoshin hashiradate, or A Beginner's Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History. In another one of his collections published in 1735, the preface includes the following note by Bankō Sanjin about Tachibana's motivations, "Mr. Tachibana compiled this book with three great wishes in mind: First, that it might delight the eyes of lofty people who seek out the serene, pure, and refined; second, that it could aid the young in their study of poetry; and third, that it would serve as some small aid to painters." For more information on this time period in Japanese art, see Chelsea Foxwell's "Access Granted: Art-Historical Art and Woodblock-Printed Books in Eighteenth-Century Japan."

Tachibana Morikuni, White Rat, 1720. Woodcut. The New York Public Library.
Tachibana Morikuni, A Singing Bird, 1720. Woodcut. The New York Public Library.
Tachibana Morikuni, A crow, 1720. Woodcut. The New York Public Library.
Tachibana Morikuni, A Beginner's Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History, 1794, volume b, pages 4, 5. Woodblock. The Met.
Tachibana Morikuni, Bird near water, 1699–1748. Woodblock. The New York Public Library.
Tachibana Morikuni, A Beginner's Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History, 1794. Woodblock. The Met.
Tachibana Morikuni, A Beginner's Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History, 1794. Woodblock. The Met.
Tachibana Morikuni, Running Horse, 1699–1748. Woodcut. The New York Public Library.