Folding screen with festive genre painting - Silk, Paper, Lacquered wood, Gold leaf - Japan - Late Edo period (first half 19th century)

An intriguing tall six-panel folding screen 屏風 (byôbu) with an elaborate Tosa School-style 土佐派 genre painting depicting a lively panorama of festivals, religious gatherings and everyday life in Edo-period Japan, all set against a shimmering gold-leaf ground.

The composition unfolds as a continuous series of animated scenes populated by hundreds of finely rendered figures. Shintô shrine precincts are crowded with visitors, merchants and attendants, with ritual gohei 御幣 (plaited paper streamers) visible within several of the shrine buildings. Elsewhere, market stalls and temporary shops line busy approaches, while travellers, townspeople and entertainers move between the different festivities.

At the centre, a large open pavilion hosts an elaborate banquet. Groups of men sit before lacquer trays laden with food while sake is served, watching a lively dance performance by women in richly patterned kimono. Nearby, a formal Buddhist gathering takes place before the closed doors of a temple hall, attended by numerous seated figures of elevated status.

Further scenes include a colourful procession carrying large decorative folding fans, musicians and dancers, groups crossing a substantial wooden bridge, people travelling by boat, and visitors gathering around food stalls and tea houses. These numerous small episodes give the screen an almost narrative quality, offering a vivid impression of public entertainment, pilgrimage and social life during the Edo period.

The individual scenes are woven together by extensive banks of gold clouds, their scalloped edges heightened with finely raised dots of gofun 胡粉 (shell past), creating a richly textured surface and separating the various episodes across the composition.

Executed in natural pigments and ink on mulberry paper with gold leaf. The painting is bordered by two patterned silk trims and set within a black lacquered wooden frame fitted with engraved protective metal fittings decorated with scrolling foliage 唐草 (karakusa).

Period: Japan – Late Edo period (first half 19th century).

Dimensions:
Total width 375.2 cm (2 × 63.6 cm, 4 × 62 cm); Height 171.1 cm.

Considering its age, the screen is in very good restored condition with traces of wear consistent with age on both sides. Restorations include some touch-ups to the gold leaf, and areas of repapering to the reverse. Please refer to the photographs for a clear impression of the condition.

The folding screen is well suited for mounting flat on a wall and presenting as a single work of art, but can also be displayed as a standalone piece.

When shipped, a certificate of authenticity will be included.