Illustrations of Birds and Flowers (Kachō e-zukushi 花鳥絵づくし)
A woodblock-printed Japanese picture book of birds and flowers by Hishikawa Moronobu, published in Edo in 1683 for a general audience of readers and collectors. Its pictures are sparse ink-line drawings with columns of kana text above, showing flowering plants, grasses, irises, wisteria and small songbirds set on open paper. A designer might take from them the economy of single-line contour drawing and the way a few stems and birds fill an asymmetrical page.
