Cleveland Museum of Art

The Four Accomplishments

Kano Shōei

Date

late 1500s–early 1600s

Medium

One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and slight color on paper

Culture

Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This is one of a pair of screens that shows a group of elite Chinese gentlemen and their servants in the countryside. One man looks on as two of his companions play a board game. Nearby is a table set with a selection of books and a qin , a type of stringed instrument, still wrapped in its cloth case, waiting to be played. The mood is one of enjoyment balanced with formality. Historically, playing the qin or qi (a game similar to chess called go in Japan), and practicing or admiring calligraphy were considered three skills essential for cultured men in China. One of the servants is diverted by the motion of a fish in the water.

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