Gyrfalcon Hunting an Egret in Snow

This scroll exemplifies the “Three Whites” (sanpaku), a popular painting scheme in which artists depicted three white elements, like a gyrfalcon and egret in snow. Ohara Keizan worked in Nagasaki, the only place where foreigners were allowed in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Around 1700, he was appointed Inspector of Chinese Art (kara-e mekiki). This painting shows the influence of the Chinese Northern Song academy style, characterized by the naturalism of its bird-and-flower subjects.