is a painting on a pair of two-folded ''

byōbu are Japanese folding screens made from several joined panels, bearing decorative painting and calligraphy, used to separate interiors and enclose private spaces, among other uses. History are originated in Han dynasty China and are tho ...

'' (

folding screen A folding screen, also known as pingfeng (), is a type of free-standing furniture consisting of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. They have practical and decorative uses, and can be made in a variet ...

s) by Rinpa artist Ogata Kōrin, a replica of a similar work by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, depicting

Raijin , also known as , , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder, and Storm, storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto and Buddhism, Buddhist religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions ...

, the god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

, and

Fūjin or , sometimes also known as Ryobu, is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto and Buddhist gods. He is portrayed as a terrifying wizardly demon, resembling a red-haired, green-skinned humanoid wearing a tiger or leopard skin ...

, the god of wind. Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) was a major

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, lacquerer and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

, and an important member of the

Rinpa school is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. It was created in 17th century Kyoto by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. c.1643). Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōri ...

, particularly famous for his ''byōbu'' screens, his paintings on ceramics and lacquerware produced by his brother Ogata Kenzan, and for consolidating the style of the founding Rinpa master, Kōetsu and Sōtatsu. One of his most important works (although not as famous as his '' Irises'' and '' Red and White Plum Blossoms'' screens), ''Wind God and Thunder God'' consists of a pair of two-folded ''byōbu'' folding screens painted with ink and color on gold-foiled paper, measuring 421.6 by 464.8 centimetres (166.0 in × 183.0 in) each. The work dates from the early 18th century: probably circa 1700, as it is not generally considered one of Kōrin's later works, and he died in 1716. The attribution to Kōrin has not been disputed. It is designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan. At some point

Sakai Hōitsu was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He is known for having revived the style and popularity of Ogata Kōrin, and for having created a number of reproductions of Kōrin's work. Biography Sakai Hōitsu was born on 1 August 1761 in ...

owned the painting, and in fact he painted one of his most famous works, '' Flowering Plants of Summer and Autumn'', on the back of these screens. The monumental two-sided ''byōbu'' screens became a symbol of the Rinpa tradition, but both sides of the screens have since been separated to protect them from damage. Kōrin's painting is a close replica of an original by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, dated from the 17th century, and designated a

National Treasure A national treasure is a structure, artifact, object or cultural work that is officially or popularly recognized as having particular value to the nation, or representing the ideals of the nation. The term has also been applied to individuals or ...

. In turn, Hōitsu painted a version in the 19th century. All three versions of the work were displayed together for the first time in seventy-five years in 2015, at the

Kyoto National Museum The is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. History The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Imp ...

exhibition "Rinpa: The Aesthetics of the Capital". An even later version of the work was created by the late Rinpa artist

Suzuki Kiitsu was a Japanese people, Japanese Painting, painter of the Rinpa school. A student of the famous painter Sakai Hoitsu (1761–1828), he was for a long time considered a minor member of Rinpa school of Japanese painting. In recent years his work h ...

, a student of Hōitsu. The screens are now part of the collection of the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

, where they are exhibited occasionally. The last time they were on display was from May 30 to July 2, 2017, in Room 7 of the Honkan (Japanese Gallery). Previously they were on display at the Tokyo National Museum in 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

References

External links

Website of the painting (Tokyo National Museum) Website of the painting (National Institutes for Cultural Heritage)
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207182941/http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100321/001?word=Wind+god+and+Thunder+God&d_lang=en&s_lang=en&class=&title=&c_e=®ion=&era=&cptype=&owner=&pos=1&num=1&mode=simple¢ury= , date=2018-02-07 Japanese paintings 18th-century paintings 1700s in Japan Important Cultural Properties of Japan Byōbu Rinpa school Paintings in the Tokyo National Museum