Cicada on tree 1900 - 1936

Editor: Here we have "Cicada on Tree" by Ohara Koson, likely created between 1900 and 1936. It's a lovely image, seemingly using coloured pencils to capture the insect perched on the bark of a tree. It feels very serene and still to me. How do you interpret this work? Curator: This print, rendered in the Ukiyo-e style, really captures a pivotal moment of transformation. We must consider the Cicada: typically associated with resilience, rebirth, and immortality because it spends most of its life underground before emerging. Its brief, loud presence is a declaration, and places Koson’s art in dialogue with feminist theories that concern marginalized voices making themselves heard. Don’t you agree? Editor: That's a really interesting way to frame it, I had just been responding to it as a natural scene. Are you saying it's less about the natural world and more about how the insect's lifecycle reflects societal narratives of oppression and emancipation? Curator: Exactly! The choice of subject in this Ukiyo-e piece might act as a visual metaphor for endurance. Cicadas and willow trees also play a symbolic role in broader societal frameworks—think of hierarchical social and historical narratives. Why is it so important to celebrate such tiny creatures and elements in Asian art? What do these elements tell us about society in that period? Editor: So it challenges dominant power structures simply by celebrating the small and often overlooked aspects of the world. I never would have thought of it that way! Curator: Considering this interpretation reframes our view on works that depict flora and fauna from being merely decorative. Instead, it proposes active political and social messages. It shows how even within traditional art forms there can exist powerful declarations of visibility and change. Editor: I’m going to have to look at this in a totally different way now. Thanks for sharing your insights! Curator: Likewise! Considering intersectional meanings like this brings even more significance to Koson's lovely “Cicada on Tree.”