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Tethered Hawks

Soga Chokuan Japanese
Inscriptions by Ittō Jōteki (Shōteki) Japanese
before 1606
Not on view
Hawks tethered to their perches, awaiting release by their masters, symbolize military preparedness and valor. Their fearsome beauty and predatory features—sharp beaks, keen eyes, long curving talons—made them metaphors of martial training and the warrior spirit. The artist Soga Chokuan, renowned for his hawk paintings, received many commissions from leading samurai for either individual paintings or sets of tethered hawk images painted individually and pasted onto folding screens.

This set is inscribed by Ittō Jōteki, one of the foremost Zen figures of his time. He eventually served as the 152nd abbot of Daitokuji in Kyoto, the most influential Zen temple in medieval Japan.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 曽我直庵筆　架鷹図押絵貼屏風
  • Title: Tethered Hawks
  • Artist: Soga Chokuan (Japanese, active ca. 1596–1615)
  • Artist: Inscriptions by Ittō Jōteki (Shōteki) (Japanese, 1533–1606)
  • Period: Momoyama period (1573–1615)
  • Date: before 1606
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Twelve paintings mounted as a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Overall (each screen incl. frame): 68 3/8 in. × 11 ft. 10 3/8 in. (173.7 × 361.7 cm)
    Image (outer two panels, each screen): 48 1/2 × 19 5/8 in. (123.2 × 49.8 cm)
    Image (inner four panels, each screen): 48 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (123.2 × 52.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.449.1, .2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Tethered Hawks, Soga Chokuan Japanese, Six-panel folding screen; ink and color on paper, Japan
Tethered Hawks
After Soga Chokuan
probably 19th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Rough Waves, Ogata Kōrin Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Rough Waves
Ogata Kōrin
ca. 1704–9
Hunting Hawk on Perch, Soga Chokuan Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan
Hunting Hawk on Perch
Attributed to Soga Chokuan
late 18th–early 19th century
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century

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