Children at Play (Screens)

This is a "phantom" folding screen by Soga Shohaku (1730-1781) that was kept hidden until recent years. A work known only through copies by later painters came to light and entered the collection of the Kyushu National Museum. It is color on silver-ground paper, and each screen measures 166.8 cm high and 369.0 cm wide.

Backgrounds of willows, an ox and a river are placed on the left and right, with children playing outdoors and two women. A distinctive feature is the unusual silver ground, and the eccentric depiction of the figures catches the eye.

The figures' clothing is painted freely with colors, ink and gold pigment, and the work is regarded as important for conveying Shohaku's varied expression. The image shows one of the screens, with children playing as if wrestling and what looks like a black ox beside a tree on the right.