Description

Japanese six-panel folding screen (byōbu) painted in ink and mineral pigments on paper, set against an expansive gold leaf ground richly animated with scattered gold flecks. The composition presents a serene coastal landscape, where mountains, shoreline, and water dissolve into one another in a poetic, atmospheric vision of nature.

To the left, rugged rock formations rise from the earth, softened by mist and framed by a delicately bending pine tree whose form introduces a graceful sense of movement. Beyond, distant mountains emerge faintly through a haze, their silhouettes rendered in subtle tonal washes that evoke depth and quiet distance. The scene opens across the central panels into a broad expanse of shimmering water, where the gold ground is masterfully activated with sprinkled gold leaf (sunago), creating the effect of glistening light dancing across the surface.

Small narrative details bring life to the composition: a lone figure stands in a narrow boat, poling gently across the water, while further to the right, two sailing vessels glide quietly along the horizon. Rolling hills and low islands rise in the distance, their forms softened and abstracted, reinforcing the dreamlike quality of the scene.

Executed in a style influenced by Rimpa aesthetics, the screen emphasizes atmosphere, pattern, and decorative harmony over strict realism. The use of gold not only illuminates the composition but transforms the landscape into an idealized, almost timeless vision—one that shifts with changing light throughout the day.

Symbolically, the imagery speaks to themes of journey, tranquility, and the passage of time. Water represents fluidity and life’s continual movement, while boats often suggest travel, transition, and the human experience within the vastness of nature. Pines, mountains, and distant shores evoke endurance, stability, and the quiet permanence of the natural world.

Age: Meiji period 1868 – 1912

Dimensions: 145″ x 65″ high