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To look at an animal print is to look twice. First, we recognize the creature: a crow on a winter branch, a carp beside a flowering plant, two rabbits viewing the moon. Then the image begins to open. Season, mood, poetry, and material surface emerge through the pressure of the baren, the grain of the woodblock, and the subtle layering of color.

Ronin Gallery is pleased to present Feather, Fin and Fur, an exhibition tracing the animal kingdom through more than four centuries of Japanese woodblock printmaking. On view from September 10 through October 31, 2026, the exhibition moves from intimate ukiyo-e studies of birds, flowers, and fish to the expressive animals of Shin Hanga, Sosaku Hanga, and contemporary woodblock printmaking. Works by Koryusai, Utamaro, Hokusai, Hiroshige, Koson (Shoson), Goyo Hashiguchi, Koshiro Onchi, Kiyoshi Saito, Tomoo Inagaki, and Daniel Kelly reveal the remarkable range of natural subjects within the Japanese print tradition. The exhibition begins with kacho-e, literally "pictures of flowers and birds," a subject with deep roots in East Asian art and a particularly rich history within Japanese painting, poetry, and printmaking. In the hands of ukiyo-e artists, closely observed plants and birds became vehicles for seasonal association, poetic exchange, and technical display. Feather, Fin and Fur takes this tradition as its point of departure while expanding beyond it to include fish, cats, rabbits, and other creatures represented with tenderness, wit, drama, and abstraction.