Late 17th-Early 18th Century Japanese Six-Panel Screen, Battle at Uji Bridge

The first battle at Uji was in 1180 and was the beginning of the Heike Wars. This screen depicts a famous scene from the Heike Wars. Two Heike generals, Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwa...

Japanese six-panel screen: Late winter into early spring, Rimpa style painting of a garden scene with doves on a bamboo fence. Flowers in bloom including red camellia, plum tree, and...

Japanese two-panel screen: Gibbons of Folklore, Edo period (17th century) Kano School painting of gibbons in Japanese fables. The left panel represents a Japanese fable of a monkey a...

Japanese Six Panel Screen: Snow Scene at Water's Edge with Flowers and Waterfowl. Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of plum, bamboo, white camellias, cranes and mandarin ducks ...

With a banana leaf palm on the left, at water's edge with geese. Perhaps a scene from the southern islands. Mineral pigments on mulberry paper with gold leaf and a silk brocade border.

Meiji period painting (1868 - 1912) of a peaceful water landscape in Spring with plum, peony, camellia, and bamboo. Ducks swim in a pond while a pa...

Cranes Anonymous, Kano School. Edo period, second half of the 17th century. Pair of six-panel screens. Ink, pigment gofun and gold l...

A delightful Japanese six panel painted paper screen featuring the beloved figure Hotei, Edo Period, early 19th century. Hotei, called Budai in China, and known as the Laughing Buddha or Fat Buddha in the West, is considered to be an emanation of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. In Japan, he also holds a special place as one of the Seven Lucky Gods, being the god of fortune, and protector of children. He is always portrayed as a mirthful and corpulent man, dressed in loose robes that show off his round belly. He carries a sack with him, said to be filled with treasure. As the protector of children, he is often portrayed with them playing on or around him, as he is here. The children portrayed in this screen are dressed in Chinese style clothing...

Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677) Tiger and Dragon Early Edo Period, Circa 1650 A Pair of Six-fold Japanese Screens. Ink and slight color on paper. Dimensions: Each screen: H. 171 cm x W. 380 cm (67.5’’ x 149.5’’) In this pair of early Edo period Japanese screens a group of tigers prowl in a bamboo grove whipped with fierce wind, while a dragon claws through clouds and mist. The dragon embodies elemental qualities - looming out of the mist, the coils of its body disappearing in the clouds. The dragon is calling for rain, symbolizing spring which is considered the fountain of life. On the other side, the tigers calls for the wind, symbolizing autumn which is considered the end of life. Tigers were familiar motifs within Japanese art from ancient times though the animals were imaginary to the people in the 17th century. While dragons and tigers are usually associated as sacred and ferocious, in this painting, both animals have rather amusing expressions. The tigers appear to glare at the dragon with cat-like eyes, and the look on the swirling dragon’s face appears almost affectionate - lending a playful flair to an otherwise magnificent theme. The tiger and dragon are cosmological symbols of the balancing forces in the world. Screens such as this were originally meant to express the fluctuating nature of the world. For Japanese in the early Edo period, they likely suggested the powers of the cosmos. In Japan the tiger and dragon motif was originally absorbed into the circles of Zen monasteries before spreading into the secular world. The theme especially appealed to the military classes with the Kano school, the official painters to the Shogun and the samurai, being the leading contributors. The painter of this pair of screens, Kaiho Yusetsu (1598-1677), was closely patronized by the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. In his later years he worked with Kano school artists...

Late Edo period 19th century Japanese six-panel landscape screen featuring a cypress tree over a flowering hibiscus with a pair of hototogisu birds. Kano school painted with ink and ...

Mitani Toshuku (1577-1654) “Falcon” Wall panel, ink and light color on paper. Upper seal: Mitani Lower seal: Toshuku Dimensions: Each 118.5 cm x 51 cm x 2 cm (46.5” x 20” x .75”) Individual falcon paintings by Mitani Toshuku (1577-1654), an early artist of the Unkoku School. Founded by Unkoku Togan (1547–1618), a master of the Momoyama period, the Unkoku school enjoyed long lasting patronage in southern Japan. Togan was a retainer of the Mori family in present day Yamaguchi prefecture. Members of the school considered themselves to be in the artistic lineage of Sesshu Toyo...

An absolutely charming pair of Japanese Tosa School six-panel folding screens painted with the "One Hundred Boys at Play" motif, featuring a multitude...