The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Tiger

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
Painting only: 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 1985.134.2
Location: Not on view

Description

A tiger looks upon a waterfall as it prowls out of a bamboo grove on this screen, and a dragon dives through clouds on the right. 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=Tiger|url=false|author=Soga Nichokuan|year=early to mid-1600s|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.134.2