Scenes of the Twelve Months
Original Language Title年中行事図屏風
CultureJapanese
Datesecond half 17th century
MediumSix-panel screen; ink, color and gold on paper (orientation: right in pair)
DimensionsOverall: 42 3/4 × 100 inches (108.59 × 254 cm)
Credit LineGift of John W. Gruber in honor of Laurence Sickman
Object numberF84-89/3
On View
Not on viewCollections
Description1st month: new year2nd month: First Horse Day Festival at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto
3rd month: annual bouts of cockfighting
4th month: wisteria-viewing
5th month: Boys' Day Festival
6th month: Gion festivalGallery Label
What do you look forward to each month? These screens celebrate monthly festivals, beginning with the cheer of New Year rendered on the far right. The year continues from right to left, marked by plants that change with the season. In late spring, people gather under wisteria blossoms. They enjoy the cool breeze on the riverboat in the hot summer. And they admire the changing colors of maple leaves in autumn. The journey through the year closes on the far left as two people pound mochi to prepare for the New Year. In the festivals celebrated on this screen, food and rice wine (sake) bring people together.
With John W. Gruber, Dalton, Pennsylvania, by October 1984;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, December 1984
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