Artist: Ohara Koson
Our Title: Owl's Moon
Date: ca. 1900s-10s 
Signed: Koson ( brushed )
Seal: Koson
Format: Watercolor painted using color and sumi-e ink on thick paper.
Dimensions: 20" x 14"
Condition: Very good color and condition 
 
Comment: A Ryukyu Scops-owl appears ready to fly right off the branch in this masterpiece by Ohara Koson. Koson's portrayal of the owl is executed with extreme precision, showcasing Koson's skill with the brush. The eye gravitates to the owl's intense yellow gaze, which is painted with a hyperdetailed quality. It As the eye moves beyond the owl, the image is affected using boke, a term coincidentally coined by the Japanese for the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image.
"Ryukyu Scops-Owl and Oriental Scops-Owl both have yellow to orangeish eyes; Japanese has a complete collar and more contrastingly pale facial disc. Vocalizations include a variety of meowing, croaking, and barking calls, as well as shrill screeches." 
 
There is an o-tanzaku woodblock print by Koson, pl. #81, p. 9 in Crows, Cranes & Camellias of an orange/red eyed owl, at night above a crescent moon. A watercolor of that design appears to be a similar format as the above watercolor is pl. # 81a. Perhaps a relative of the above watercolor.