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Amusements at Higashiyama in Kyoto

Kano School Japanese
ca. 1620s
Not on view
People from every social class can be seen in vignettes on this screen and its pair—samurai are the central protagonists, with courtiers and court ladies, itinerant performers, and mendicant monks also present. All these citizens of Kyoto take advantage of a sunny afternoon at the peak of the cherry-blossom season in the scenic Eastern Hills, or Higashiyama district. Each screen highlights a famous sacred site—the right shows Kiyomizudera Temple and the left Yasaka Shrine. Both feature a festive outdoor banquet attended by elite samurai. The intricately patterned gold clouds create a dramatic background for colorful genre scenes and inviting landscapes. Masterpieces of Kano school painting, the screens survive in remarkably fine condition and, though relatively small, convey the celebratory spirit of a country finally at peace after nearly a century of civil war.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 狩野派 東山遊楽図屏風
  • Title: Amusements at Higashiyama in Kyoto
  • Artist: Kano School (Japanese, 1476–1559)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1620s
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, mica, and gold leaf on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each screen): 33 1/16 in. × 8 ft. 11 1/2 in. (84 × 273 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, 2013 Benefit Fund and Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.491.1, .2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Pine Tree (obverse); Landscape (reverse), Kano School Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold on paper (obverse); ink and color on paper (reverse side), Japan
Pine Tree (obverse); Landscape (reverse)
Kano School
17th century
Rain God Riding in Clouds on a Horse, Kano School Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Rain God Riding in Clouds on a Horse
Kano School
Procession of the Emperor and Suite, Kano School Japanese, One of a set of two handscrolls; ink and color on paper, hand-tinted, Japan
Procession of the Emperor and Suite
Kano School
1626
Blackbird on Wave-Swept Rock, Kano School Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan
Blackbird on Wave-Swept Rock
Kano School
Procession of the Emperor and His Suite, Kano School Japanese, One of a set of two handscrolls; ink and color on paper, hand-tinted, Japan
Procession of the Emperor and His Suite
Kano School
1626

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