A JAPANESE SIX-FOLD PAPER SCREEN

A JAPANESE SIX-FOLD PAPER SCREEN, BYOBU

EDO OR MEIJI PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY

Depicting an extensive view of Kyoto with a profusion of details, the many figures engaged in daily pursuits in the streets of the city and by the river, with identifiable landmarks such as the Kiyomizu-dera temple, a long procession including several large ornate carts coming down the main avenue, possibly for the Gion festival, with further buildings and villages nestled amongst the mountains in the top half of the composition, approx. 170cm x 375cm.

See the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, access. nos.2015.300.106.1-2, for a pair of screens depicting similar scenes in and around the old capital. These depictions of Kyoto were usually divided between two screens, with the left picture depicting Nijo Castle and the western half of the city, and the right screen depicting the eastern side of Kyoto.