Description

On a slender branch sits an uguisu, the Japanese nightingale, whose call is regarded in Japan as the first sign of approaching spring. Around it, white and red plum blossoms open on wide-spreading, moss-covered branches. The warm ocher of the plumage and the turquoise lichen on the dark bark set lively accents against the light, understated background.

Ume ni uguisu, plum blossom and nightingale, is one of the fixed pictorial pairings of Japanese art, encountered since the poetry collections of the Heian period as well as on playing cards, lacquerware, and hanging scrolls. The fact that red and white blossoms stand side by side here further heightens the festive effect, since red and white are considered an auspicious color combination in Japan. The composition leaves the upper part of the picture plane airy and directs the gaze entirely to the small bird.

The motif is executed as a screen print on silk, mounted in a border of patterned brocade in warm beige and gold tones; the scroll ends with jikusaki made of wood. Signature and red seal are found in the lower right of the image. As a decorative hanging scroll from the Heisei period, it brings the spring mood of classical Japanese painting into a living space or a tokonoma.