Cleveland Museum of Art

Dragon and Tiger

Soga Nichokuan

Date

early to mid-1600s

Medium

pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, slight color, gold, and silver on paper

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A tiger looks upon a waterfall as it prowls out of a bamboo grove, and a dragon dives through clouds on the right. Tiger and dragon are traditional symbols of the balancing forces in the world, yin (the feminine aspect) and yang (the masculine aspect). This painting has a signature and seals, identifying it as a work by Soga Nichokuan, a painter thought to be from Sakai (near Osaka), and known primarily for his representations of hawk-eagles ( kumataka ).

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