Japanese Folding Screen, Kayo Zu, Falcons on a Perch, Soga School, Edo

Six-Panel Folding Screen, Kayo Zu, Falcons on a Perch, Soga School, Edo Period, 18th Century

This six-panel folding screen, of the oshi-e hari type (paintings mounted on screens), is painted with pigments on paper. It is assembled using strips of paper and silk, along with black lacquered slats adorned with protective brass fittings.

The technical term kay? zu, meaning “falcon on a perch,” depicts immobile falcons. These birds are tied to the perch with a cord. The word kay? is composed of the characters ka (perch) and y? (falcon).

Each panel features a falcon, a striking image of a bird of prey, perched on an interior perch whose silk veil allows the plumage to appear in transparency (the exterior perches have straw protections). The existence of interior perches highlights the importance accorded to these birds.

Each bird of prey is depicted in a different position, attached to a finely drawn cordon, demonstrating remarkable attention to detail and imparting a strong sense of realism to the entire piece.

This folding screen is part of an artistic tradition fueled by the nobility’s passion for falconry, particularly popular during the 17th and 18th centuries, though its origins date back to the Middle Ages. Many artists, such as Hashimoto Senkei, a pupil of Kan? Tan’y?, distinguished themselves in this genre by working for the Obama clan of Wakasa in the Echizen province, now known as Fukui. Coming from a lineage of specialized artists, Senkei perpetuated an art form passed down from his father, Hashimoto Ch?bei, who was known as the “Falcon of Tsuruga.”

The daimy? of Tsuruga (Echizen province) employed a group of painters specialized in depicting falcons. These artists were heavily influenced by Soga Chokuan and Soga Nichokuan, 17th-century artists whose approach involved infusing falcons with vibrant character and liveliness through meticulous observation.

Through meticulous representation of the details of the plumage, beak, and the lively gaze of the birds, each panel offers subtle variations in the falcons’ posture, plumage color, and the manner in which the cordon is tied. These birds of prey, as hunters, are depicted as alert and ready to move with great speed.

This perceptible diversity from one panel to another enriches the overall composition, inviting the viewer to contemplate the artist’s rigor and freedom in the study of nature.

During the Edo period, these screens were primarily used by the nobility and kept in castles, which explains why some of them remain in excellent condition to this day.

Folding screens with falcon motifs can be found, among others, at the Musée Guimet in Paris, the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst in Berlin, and Tsukuba University in Japan.