Screen with Scene from the Tale of Genji

• folding screens - Refers to screens comprising two or more panels in a frame which has hinged sections that can be folded to adjust coverage. They are often decorated. Early examples include the Chinese form, mentioned as early as the 2nd century BCE. The earliest surviving examples date to the Ming dynasty. Folding screens were introduced to Japan from China in the 8th century; such screens were often designed in pairs in Japan. From the early 17th century eastern folding screens were imported to Europe and the form was soon adopted by European craftsmen.
• Japanese - Nationality, periods, cultures, and styles found in Japan, either in historical times or in the present.
• Kano School - Refers to the work of a school of painters patronized from the late Muromachi period (1333-1568) through the Edo period (1600-1868) by successive military governments. Founded by Kano Masanobu (1434-1530) in the mid-15th century, the school emphasized the conservative Chinese Southern Song and Yuan academic styles, and grew into a large network of artists who held control over public and private commissions from the shogunate, monasteries and merchant classes for over 200 years. Kano artists produced a wide variety of works from fans to screen painting to hanging scrolls and votive plates. The Kano school was also well known for its bold style of ink painting.