Description
Kamo Shrine in Kyoto, seen in the upper half of the left screen, has held an annual horse race on May 5th since the ninth century. Serving as a snapshot of the festivities, this pair of screens captures nearly 600 people watching the race, beginning at the bottom part of the right screen and continuing to the left. The race is a great spectacle where aristocratic riders cling to their fast and unwieldy mounts. While many of those in attendance seem in rapt attention to the main event, other vignettes depict people engaged in an array of activities. This pair of screens was likely originally part of a group of linked murals.
Provenance
(Kochukyo Co., Inc., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1976–)
Accession Number
1976.95.1
Medium
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens, ink and color on gilded paper
Dimensions
Image: 161 x 362 cm (63 3/8 x 142 1/2 in.); Overall: 176.5 x 377.3 cm (69 1/2 x 148 9/16 in.); Closed: 176.5 x 64 x 12.5 cm (69 1/2 x 25 3/16 x 4 15/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund