Cranes, Pines, and Bamboo

Such propitious symbols of longevity as cranes, pines, and bamboo, shown here beneath a crescent moon, evoke the auspicious realm of the immortals. The pair subtly suggests spring and autumn through such floral motifs as azaleas, chrysanthemums, morning glories, and eulalias. The screens’ most striking feature is the disposition of the stream. Flowing toward the viewer, the stream both separates and unites the two segments of land. Such a bold composition is an early demonstration of Kōrin’s genius for pictorial design, in which natural elements are formalized.

Certain unfinished areas suggest the preparatory nature of this work: the smudged-in upper portion of the tree trunk, the faint green of the branches in the right screen, and the notation “very pale green” written on the lower part of the left screen. Thought to have been part of the collection of sketches and drawings formerly owned by the Konishi family, descendants of Ogata Kōrin, this work was later remounted as a pair of folding screens.