Pleasures and Amusements (left screen)

Important Cultural Property
A pair of eight-fold screens, colors and ink on gilt paper.
Edo period, 17th C.

Byobu, or folding screens, originally served as room partitions. Later, they became indispensable for decorating interior spaces. Covered with paper or silk, Byobu were generally adorned with paintings, though some had calligraphy or were left plain with no design. The panels of the screens could be folded or opened wide depending on the space.