Something in the Air — flying things real and imagined

I’m not good with languages, but I liked the day when we sang that in Spain cows do not say “moo.” Some Japanese depictions are like ours, others not. This group offers designs with flying creatures, weather events and myths of air. Birds are what you expect; cranes, sparrows, swallows, ravens and hawks look much as you see them in western art. Earlier designs shows flocks of sparrows, dark as an ominous cloud.

Butterflies are a happy decorative motif. But what’s with the bats? Meaning can be carried to unlikely ends as here, in which a Chinese character for happiness, “fu” is linked to a Japanese word for “bat” so when I think vampires, they think good fortune. Snow is a circle with little circles cut out of the edge. Mist and fog are swirly lines while dragons and storm monsters visit from time to time.