Lot 6 TALL 2-PANEL BYÔBU 屏風 (FOLDING SCREEN) WITH GENERAL MINAMOTO NO HACHIMAN TARÔ YOSHI’IE

An interesting and tall two-panel byôbu 屏風 (folding screen), featuring a painting of the famed archer General Minamoto no Hachiman Tarô Yoshi’ie 源八幡太郎義家 (1041–1106), accompanied by an attendant in a spring landscape with blooming cherry trees.

Both figures sit atop caparisoned horses, dressed in full hunting attire, bows in hand, pausing beneath a cherry tree in full bloom—an image said to have inspired one of Yoshi’ie’s most well-known verses. The scene is set near the Nakoso barrier, a historic frontier location. The poem reads:
“I thought this gusty barrier was a mere name, but why do the wild cherry blossoms so cover the path?”
For the nobility of the Heian period (794–1185), the Nakoso Barrier marked a symbolic border between the refined courtly world and the untamed northern regions. In this depiction, Yoshi’ie pauses on his return journey to Kyoto following successful military campaigns in the north.

The reverse covered with a decorative canvas with a tranquil landscape print in colour.
Rendered in colour and ink on paper, the painting is bordered with two bands of silk brocade: a thin inner rim of brown and a broader outer rim in dark brown. Framed in black lacquered wood.

Period: Japan – Taishô period (1912–1926)
Dimensions:
Total width: 176.4 cm (2 × 88.2 cm), Height: 176.4 cm

In good restored condition with signs of wear consistent with age and some spots. Please refer to the photos for a clear condition reference.

The screen is well-suited for mounting flat on a wall and presenting as a single work of art.