Left: Hawk on a Snowy Bough; Right: Hawk on a Snowy Bough (embroidered hanging scroll)

How embroidered painting was born in Japan has to
do with the embroidery design made by Kyoto artist, who, like embroidery
artisans, also lost their patrons in the Meiji period. Designs by top-ranking
artists like Kishi Chikudō (1826-1897), Imao Keinen (1845-1924), and Takeuchi
Seihō (1864-1942) were combined with the master embroidery skills cultivated
since the Edo period. Thus, pre-modern Japanese embroidery fabulously made with
great mastery was born. On the left is a Japanese painting by Takeuchi Seihō
and on the right is the embroidered version. While the design is faithfully
kept unchanged, we can see differences in the way the design is presented
through brushwork and by threads. New motifs also began to be used for Japanese
painting, including Japanese native flora and fauna as well as landscapes,
while animals, portraits and other motifs found in western painting were also
being used.