The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Dragon

early to mid-1600s

attributed to Soga Nichokuan

(Japanese)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
six-panel folding screen; ink, slight color, gold, and silver on paper
Image: 158.1 x 304.8 cm (62 1/4 x 120 in.); Including mounting: 173.4 x 377.2 cm (68 1/4 x 148 1/2 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1985.134.1
Location: Not on view

Description

A dragon dives through clouds on this screen, while on the other screen, a tiger looks upon a waterfall as it prowls out of a bamboo grove. Tiger and dragon are traditional symbols of the balancing forces in the world, yin (the feminine aspect) and yang (the masculine aspect). This painting has a signature and seals, identifying it as a work by Soga Nichokuan, a painter thought to be from Sakai (near Osaka), and known primarily for his representations of hawk-eagles (kumataka).
  • ?–1985
    (Klaus F. Naumann East Asian Art, Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1985.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 73, no. 2 (February 1986): 26–71. Reproduced: p. 46; Mentioned: p. 70, no. 188 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Reproduced: pp. 77, cat. no. 39
    Paget, Rhiannon. Divine Felines: The Cat in Japanese Art. Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2023. Mentioned: p. 170; Reproduced: pp. 167–168, 170–171
  • Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 13-November 16, 2015).
    Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1987-January 10, 1988).
    The Year in Review for 1985. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).
  • {{cite web|title=Dragon|url=false|author=Soga Nichokuan|year=early to mid-1600s|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.134.1