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Cherry-Blossom and Maple-Leaf Viewing

ca. 1630s
Not on view
Outings to enjoy blossoming cherry trees and the turning colors of maple leaves have been cherished seasonal activities in Japan since ancient times. In the screen at right, where spring cherry blossoms are at their peak, aristocratic women have arrived by carriage. The ladies, with their long hair and voluminous silk garments, look almost anachronistic, while the men, other women, and children are dressed in colorful contemporary fashion. A lady of the palace sits composing a poem while her attendants relax, some enjoying sake.
The central figures in the screen at left, an autumn scene with red maples, are court noblemen, warriors, and merchants; even Buddhist monks join the merrymaking. Long pipes such as the one shown in the second panel from the right began to appear prominently in genre paintings after tobacco was introduced to Japan in the late sixteenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 花見・紅葉狩図屏風
  • Title: Cherry-Blossom and Maple-Leaf Viewing
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1630s
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on gilded paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each): 49 1/2 in. × 11 ft. 9 5/8 in. (125.7 × 359.7 cm)
    Overall (each): 56 7/8 in. × 12 ft. 2 in. (144.5 × 370.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.108.1, .2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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