The Pigeon Has the Respect of Three Branches; the Crow Has the Filial Piety of Returning Nourishment

In this work, Kyōsai brings together two traditional images associated with the relationship between children and parents. One concerns pigeons, the other crows, and both revolve around respect for elders, gratitude, and the return of parental care.

The upper part of the composition shows pigeons. The scene refers to an old belief that a young pigeon, when near its parent, does not perch on the same level but three branches lower. From this comes the image of the “three branches” as a sign of proper conduct by the younger toward the elder. The idea is connected with 礼, rei — correct and respectful behaviour. In Confucian thought, 礼 belongs to the Five Constant Virtues, together with humanity, righteousness, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

The young pigeons are dressed in human clothing, including hakama, and are therefore presented not as chicks but as adults. Their appearance and posture suggest a formal visit to their parents after entering adult life. The scene may evoke genpuku, the traditional coming-of-age ceremony, or a visit connected with an engagement or marriage. The precise occasion is less important than the underlying structure: the children have grown up, yet they continue to acknowledge the seniority of their parents and return to express respect and gratitude.

The second part of the composition concerns crows and another well-known moral image: 反哺, hanpo, literally the idea of “feeding back” or “return feeding.” The meaning is that parents first feed their young, and when the parents grow old, the adult offspring feed them in return. The concept therefore became a metaphor for filial piety and for repaying the care once received.

The character 哺 is directly connected with feeding and with food given from the mouth. This makes the meaning of 反哺 particularly concrete: gratitude is expressed not as an abstract feeling but through a physical act — the grown child gives food back to the one who once fed it.

Kyōsai develops this idea through several moments of time within a single composition. In one scene, an adult crow feeds its young. This represents the past, when the children were still completely dependent on their parents. Elsewhere, the relationship is reversed: the now-grown young birds bring food to their aged mother.

The work therefore combines events that could not have taken place at the same moment. First the parents feed the children; years pass, the children grow up, the parents age, and the direction of care is reversed. By placing these different stages together, Kyōsai is able to show an entire cycle of life rather than a single episode.

The old mother crow is shown as no longer able to obtain food on her own. The younger birds find food and bring it to her. The moral is direct: care for one’s parents should not be postponed. This idea is closely related to the Japanese saying 孝行したい時分に親はなし — “By the time one wishes to show filial devotion, one’s parents are gone.” Awareness of one’s obligations should therefore not come too late.

There is also a notable textual detail on the print itself. In the word referring to filial piety, the character 考 was carved instead of the correct 孝. This is not an alternative spelling or a different meaning, but a carving error. For that reason, the exact title of the print preserves the form as it appears on the impression, although the intended meaning is clearly 孝, filial piety.

The composition as a whole is constructed around a parallel between the two species of birds. The pigeons represent the respectful position of the younger toward the elder, while the crows represent the return of parental care in old age. In the first case, the emphasis is on proper distance and conduct; in the second, on the practical duty of grown children to support their parents.

Kyōsai transforms these moral concepts into an anthropomorphic scene. The birds wear human clothing, bow, sit together, feed one another, and participate in what appears almost like a family ceremony. As a result, the didactic subject never becomes dry. It remains lively, humorous, and closely observed, while retaining a clear moral structure.

The composition is also known in different printing variants. Certain details of clothing and ornament change between them: the pattern of the horizontal stripes on one pigeon’s hakama differs, the costume of the adult crow is treated differently, and the white circular motifs on the younger birds’ garments vary. There are also differences in colour.

Such changes demonstrate how visually distinct different states of the same design could become while the basic composition remained unchanged. This is particularly important in Japanese colour woodblock printing, where an image was built up through successive impressions from multiple blocks: one for the principal outlines and others for individual colours. Changes to a block, or different combinations of colours and patterns, could therefore produce a noticeably different version of the same print.

The work is consequently interesting on several levels. It is a moral image about filial respect and the responsibilities between generations; it is also characteristic of Kyōsai’s delight in transferring human behaviour to animals; and it is an example of a complex composition in which several moments of time are united within a single image. The existence of different printing variants adds another layer, showing how the same design could change during the process of printing and reissue.