Bairei Picture Album of One Hundred Birds (Bairei hyakuchō gafu) 1881 - 1884

Kōno Bairei created this page from the ‘Picture Album of One Hundred Birds’ using woodblock printing, a technique refined in Japan over centuries. The key to this image lies in understanding the labor involved in its making. First, the artist would have painstakingly drawn the image, paying close attention to the texture and form of the birds in flight. Then, skilled artisans would carve the design into separate woodblocks, one for each color. The paper itself, likely made from the inner bark of the gampi tree, has a subtle warmth and fibrous quality. Consider the social context: woodblock printing enabled the mass production of images, making art accessible to a wider audience. Each print involved a division of labor: the artist, the carver, the printer, all contributing their expertise. In this way, what appears as a simple image of birds is actually the result of many hands, reflecting the integration of art and craft in Japanese society. It’s a reminder that even seemingly mass-produced images carry the trace of human skill and effort.