Minneapolis Institute of Art

Sail boats on Yodo River in Fushimi [left of a pair]

Japan

Date

around 1600 (restored in 1672)

Medium

Six-panel folding screen, one of a pair, ink and color on gilded paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Yodo River was an important thoroughfare between Kyoto and Osaka and was used for transporting people as well as goods. But no humans are depicted in this remarkably abstract view of the section flowing through Fushimi in Kyoto. Bamboo, clouds, mountains, and sailboats are the only elements painted on top of a layer of thin gold leaf. The artist created a clever composition because both sides of the pair align, and there is no fixed left or right placement of these folding screens; indeed, a person could arrange the pair in a circle, sit in the middle, and enjoy the continuous view. Japan, Asia

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