# An eagle on a snow-laden blossoming plum tree

- By: Soga Nichokuan
- Date: 1568-1615
- Medium: Ink and gold on paper
- Classification: Paintings
- Dimensions: H x W: 149.2 x 342.4 cm (58 3/4 x 134 13/16 in)
- Culture: Japanese
- Credit line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Museum: [Smithsonian Institution](https://asia.si.edu/object/F1898.475/)
- Rights: [CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/fcf238fc9a1e54c65d2a240b2ac60292.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

An eagle perches on a gnarled branch, with the shape made by its curled claw echoing that of the setting sun hanging in the hazy, ink-streaked atmosphere. As there are no white predatory bird species native to Japan, the artist likely based this composition on a model from China. He has applied darker ink to the claws, beak, and eyes, as if the essence of the raptor’s instincts is distilled into these razor-sharp surfaces.