Edo-era painter Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) excelled at capturing the flora and fauna of the natural world, a skill that extended to remarkable depictions of birds. In particular, chickens were a common theme for the artist and it was said that Jakuchu owned many of them, and allowed them to roam freely in his yard as he observed and painted them. One enthusiast shares in Jakuchu’s obsession with chickens, as well as the work of Jakuchu itself, which has resulted in the wonderfully niche hobby of recreating the 18th century images through contemporary photography.
The Japanese photographer, who goes by the pen-name daiouika, is crazy about chickens (not our words, but his!) and spends his time photographing and posting pictures of chickens. He claims that 98% of his social media posts are chicken-related (a quick fact-check confirms this is likely true) and while each is more beautiful than the next, for us, his most-interesting compositions are those that replicate the work of artist Ito Jakuchu.
Daiouika spends hours studying the historic paintings and then waiting for just the right moment to snap his photo, recreating a near-identical scene from what Jakuchu captured hundreds of years ago. Why go to all this trouble? The photographer explains that he wants to elevate the beauty of these birds in hopes that artists will once again paint and draw them as subjects. He welcomes any artist to use his photographs as references, asking only that they share their creations with him once complete.
So there you have it, artists. You don’t need to wait until 2029, the next year of the rooster, to begin drawing. Here are all the chicken references you’ll ever need.
