Imao Keinen, Little Grebe from Keinen Kacho Gafu, 1892, Woodblock Print

A Wonderful Large Woodblock print from 1892 by Imao Keinen (今尾 景年), representing a Little Grebe (カイツブリ) among Manchurian Wild Rice (マコモ)

from the album "Keinen Kachō Gafu" (景年花鳥畫譜) volume 4, Winter, plate 26

One of the most beautiful plates of the entire collection!

The same print is also in the collection of the British Museum, see:
Japanese Illustrated Book number: JIB.688.

On show at Minnesota Maritime Museum


and in collections of Brooklyn Museum, NY.


Year: 1892 (Meiji 25)
Size: 365 x 255 mm

Colour Woodcut on Mulberry Paper

Very good condition, full artwork, no trimming/cropping (the small holes on the margins are due to the binding and mandatory in this edition)
Beautiful colours

See Pulverer Collection, Smithsonian Institution (same first edition with Japanese numbers, very rare, for internal market - another more common and less exotic edition with Roman number has been published the same year for export)

The listing is for the original print only. The Japanese colophon is shown as a proof of the 1892 edition.
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The Artist IMAO KEINEN and his Famous Album of Birds (Keinen Kachō Gafu)

Imao Keinen (1845 - 1924) was born in Kyoto, Japan. He studied classical Japanese painting, calligraphy, and printmaking. He spent most of his life creating works of art that celebrated the beauty and diversity of the natural world. Keinen specialized in kachō-e, highly detailed depictions of birds among native Japanese plants and flowers.

Keinen made a living as a textile designer before establishing himself as a painter and printmaker. Keinen developed a deep appreciation for the natural world and spent most of his life creating works of art that celebrated the beauty and diversity of nature. He learned the traditional Japanese techniques of woodblock printing, which he would later use to create some of his most famous works. He was part of a movement called Shin-hanga, meaning “new prints,” which sought to revitalize traditional ukiyo-e printing techniques that were popular in Japan in the 17th through mid-19th centuries. He is best known for Bird and Flower Albums by Keinen (Keinen Kachō Gafu, 1892), published by Nishimura Soemon in four volumes of 40 prints each. Keinen’s bird and flower prints were exhibited in shows in Japan and Paris, where they influenced European artists who were attracted to their stark naturalism.

To create a woodblock print in the traditional Japanese style, an artist first draws an image onto washi, a thin yet durable type of paper, which is then adhered to a block of wood. Using the drawing as a guide, the image is carved into the wood surface. Ink is applied to the relief, then paper is placed on top; the paper is rubbed with a flat tool to transfer the ink. Historically, the painter, carver, and printmaker were often different people, making the final prints a collaborative artistic process. In the case of Keinen Imao’s Kachō Gafu, Keinen painted the image, which was carved onto woodblocks by Tanaka Hirokichi, and printed by Miki Jinzaburo.