Practice and Play in Japanese Art
- Gallery Rotation
Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Japanese Art Galleries
Horse Stable (厩図屏風) (detail), early 1500s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper; 146.1 x 346.6 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1934.373.1
About The Exhibition
From the 1200s to the 1800s, developing a balanced set of military (bu, 武) and cultural (bun, 文) skills was considered important for the elites of Japan’s warrior class. The artworks in this gallery relate to these divergent yet complementary pursuits. Horse riding and falconry were among the martial arts, along with archery. Poetry competitions tested people’s ability to compose verse on the spot, and incense games challenged them to identify particular scents. The practices of calligraphy, music, painting, and games of strategy, often informed by Chinese precedents, provided multiple paths to personal cultivation and community.