Oju was the second son of Maruyama Okyo, founder of the Maruyama school of artists who combined Japanese themes and painting techniques with elements of Western realism. Oju was a well-known painter of animals. Here, despite his use of the broad brush (hakeme), he convincingly conveys the animals lumbering bulk and musculature. This spontaneous, intuitive style also mirrored the popularity of haiku poetry. In fact, such paintings were often referred to as haiga or haiku painting.