Japanese Edo Screen Hamamatsu Pine Shore with Cranes

Spectacular 19th century Japanese late Edo period six-panel byobu screen depicting Yoshitsune and Benkei, two heroes of Japanese folklore. Crafted in ink and natural color pigments on mulberry paper with thick gold leaf borders on each panel. The character Yoshitsune is seated under a blossoming cherry tree in full armor holding a fan. The warrior priest or monk Benkei is depicted kneeling on a leopard skin...

Impressive early 19th century Japanese Edo period two-panel screen featuring flowering plants and grasses of autumn. Painted in the Tosa School style Bunka Bunsei period or Ogosho pe...

Remarkable pair of early 19th century Japanese late Edo period screens depicting summer chrysanthemums growing along a brushwood fence. Ink and...

Fascinating 19th century Japanese late Edo period six pane funpon screen. Large scale depicting Chinese scholars and officials engaged in leis...

Whimsical Japanese late Edo period two-panel screen circa 1800 by Yokoyama Kazan (Japanese 1784-1837). The screen depicts four of the seven Gods or deities ...

Fantastic pair of 19th century Japanese late Edo/early Meiji period six-panel screens titled The seven sages of the bamboo grove. The Kano school screens...

This 18th century folding screen is a stunning example of Japanese artistry. Beautifully painted with delicate brushwork, the evocative screen depicts a lively festival during the Ed...

Pines and Cranes Anonymous. Kyoto Kano School. Late 17th/early 18th centuries, circa 1700. Pair of six-panel Japanese folding screens. Ink, gofun, pigment and gold leaf on paper. This bold composition presents two pine trees extending to the left and right across a gold leaf background. One tree is silhouetted against a green ground, golden clouds obscuring its true size, the other stretches across a stylized waterway. The pines are paired with Manchurian cranes with red crests and snow white plumage. Both have been highly auspicious motifs in East Asia since Chinese antiquity. Here the artist utilized fluid and instinctive ink brushstrokes to define the trunk, branches and tail feathers, in strong contrast to the precision and sharp angularity of the crane’s legs and beaks. The adoption of this vast metallic painting support required an unerring sense of design and composition, so that the negative space surrounding motifs could imply context for the otherwise floating pictorial elements. The brushwork detailing the trunks of the pines, the exaggerated dimensions of the pine trees and the strength and dynamism of the composition are all reminiscent of Kano Eitoku...

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

In Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity as they mate for life and turtles symbolize longevity. Additionally, this screen also has the Japanese motif of sho-chiku-bai, or the three friends of winter (pine, plum, and bamboo). So called the three friends of winter because all three flourish during the cold months. This screen was originally fusuma doors...

Japanese two panel screen: Amorous Cranes and Turtles. In Japan, cranes symbolize fidelity as they mate for life and turtles symbolize longevity. Additionally, this screen also has the Japanese motif of sho-chiku-bai, or the three friends of winter (pine, plum, and bamboo). So called the three friends of winter because all three flourish during the cold months. This screen was originally fusuma doors...

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...