Description
The intense composition of a giant plum tree, delineated in almost dry ink against the vast gold background, and the crows perched frozen on its snow-covered branches is typical of the Momoyama Period. Typical of this period are also touches of crimson blossoms and green mosses against the gold splendor. This series of sliding door panels were originally housed at the Najima Castle in Chikuzen Province, built by Kobayakawa Takakage in 1588-1589. They later came into the possession of Kuroda Nagamasa, after his formal succession. The painting is attributed to Unkoku Togan (1547-1618), the artist employed by Mori Terumoto, a nephew of Kobayakawa.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
July 20, 2026