Chrysanthemums and Running Water 1925 - 1936

Ohara Koson created this woodblock print, 'Chrysanthemums and Running Water', sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century, a period of huge political and cultural change in Japan. At the time, the Japanese print market was heavily influenced by Western tastes, leading to a new style known as shin-hanga, or 'new prints', which blended traditional techniques with Western aesthetics. Koson was a key figure in this movement, responding to both domestic and export markets. The print’s floral imagery evokes the natural world. Note how the water is not contained, and runs freely. The composition suggests ideas of freedom and the rejection of restraint. Koson created a new type of print that was self-consciously progressive. Art historians can reveal these cultural contexts through careful examination of the art itself, coupled with an understanding of the institutions that shaped its production and reception.