Pair of Folding Screens

Unknown artist

Edo period, 1860

Paper, plain-weave silk crepe ([chirimen])

Tokyo National Museum

A six-panel folding screen depicts scenes of women in traditional Japanese attire, with some panels featuring pine trees and floral motifs. The artwork is rendered in a flat, illustrative style with a light, neutral background. These colorful scenes are assembled from numerous paper cutouts and cotton covered in silk. This screen likely represents the improvised theater [niwaka], which was held in the pleasure district, Yoshiwara, in the summer.