Important Cultural Property Namban Screens

These paired screens portray the arrival of Westerners in Japan following the import of guns in 1543. In those days, Westerners, mainly Spanish and Portuguese, were referred to as “southern barbarians.” The right-hand screen shows a Western ship with its captain entering a port where missionaries are gathered. The left-hand screen depicts the somewhat exotic scene of a broad terrace, foreign women and dogs. Being a typical Namban-byobu (screen painting of westerners), these brightly colored paintings reveral the great creativity of painters in the Momoyama period. Judging from the painting style, this work is attributed to Kano Sanraku, a painter of the late Momoyama period.