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Moon

uji bridge and willows image free man’s guide to the subtleties of poetry image moonlight image incense storage box image
uji bridge and willows image

UJI BRIDGE AND WILLOWS

This pair of screens is linked by a bridge painted in gold leaf, lit by a silver moon. The painting evokes the sound of the gushing water under the faint moonlight. The Uji Bridge is a famous site southeast of Kyoto, Japan. The river flowing through Uji was known as a poetic place cherished for the reflection of the moon in the water.

Learn more about this object

Like most folding screens in traditional Japan, this work would have been used as interior furnishing. The screens served as partitions in the rooms of houses typical of the period. The gold surface helped amplify the natural light or candlelight in a building’s relatively dark chambers.

Object Number

F1968.39–40

Date

1573–1615, Momoyama period

Place of Origin

Japan

Medium

Ink, color, and gold on paper

Dimensions

H × W (each): 146.3 × 325.2 cm
(57 5/8 × 128 in.)

Credit line

Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer