The rise of professional painters during the late 15th and early 16th centuries provided a stimulus for renewed Japanese interest in the academic Chinese tradition of bird-and-flower painting. Some Chinese bird-and-flower paintings were painted in bright colors, while others combined ink and lighter colors. They are noted for their extraordinary realism, in whichintimate scenes from nature are captured with sensitivity and precision. Paintings of this type had been known in Japan as early as the Kamakura period; however, new examples were introduced to Japan in the 15th century as a result of the renewal of official trade between the Ashikaga shoguns and Ming-period China.

This charming painting of Birds and Flowers exemplifies the combination of Chinese and Japanese aesthetics found in Muromachi bird-and-flower painting. The painting depicts two finchlike birds perched on a branch of a fruit tree while a third bird flies above. The chrysanthemums in the background suggest that this scene is autumnal, because this species is often associated with the fall. The combination of modulated brushstrokes and delicate washes in this painting ultimately derives from Song-period Chinese (960-1279) sources. The sense of vitality and the treatment of flowers, leaves, and other details in a flat, patternlike manner characterizes Japanese art during the 15th and 16th centuries.

The inscription at the upper right reads dai Min yushi Cho'oku Joki shu, 'painted by Cho'oku Joki, who traveled [to Japan] from the great Ming [China].' Two artist's seals, one reading Joki and the other Toson, are impressed beneath the signature. A third seal at the bottom left, which was impressed upside down, reads Gyobu Jiro.

As is often the case with Muromachi-period artists, very little is known about Cho'oku Joki. His given name was Tomotada, and his personal name is unknown. In addition to Cho'oku and Joki, he used the artist-name Sogei. He is believed to have painted primarily monochromatic ink landscapes and to have been either a Chinese artist who worked with Sesshu or a Japanese artist who traveled to China.