Birds and Flowers (Mounted Panel Screens)

Several sets of Jakuchu screens with various animals and plants in ink on each panel are known, and one of them bears dates from Horeki 9 to 11 (1759-61, when Jakuchu was 44 to 46). From this, the present screen is also presumed to date from his mid-40s. It is ink on paper, and each panel measures 127.7 cm high and 51.5 cm wide.

Within Jakuchu's 85-year life it is a very early work, set apart from his late works, many of which came from his workshop. It dates from the same period as the 30 colored scrolls of the "Colorful Realm of Living Beings," and shows that he was trying experimental forms in ink painting alongside his colored paintings.

Its highlights are crisp ink drawing, distinctive sharp forms and fresh ink techniques including "sujime-gaki" (streaked-line drawing), and the influence of earlier Nagasaki school painters such as Kakutei and of Obaku painting can also be seen. The image shows one of the screens, with birds, branches and flowers painted in ink on the panels.