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Introductory Information The Idemitsu Screen is one of two extant of its kind that Japanese scholars believe lend clues to what Edo was like during the 17th Century before the Meireki Fire. The Idemitsu Screen consists of a pair of eightfold screens (a right and a left) while the Hayashi Screen (not pictured here) is composed of a pair of sixfold screens. Art historians date both paintings to about the 1630’s. Though created at nearly the same time, the screens differ tremendously in emphasis. In the Hayashi Screen, the Edo Castle is an imposing image while the same castle is depicted in much less grandeur in the Idemitsu Screen. This visual clue as well as many others lead scholars to believe that the former may have been commissioned by a daimyo while the latter may have been commissioned by a merchant. |
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