Folding Screen with Design of Cranes

Two white cranes fill the wide format. The crane on the left stands with its neck gently curved, while the one on the right lowers its head and crouches beneath a pine branch reaching in from the upper right. Rocks and undergrowth lie at their feet, and ink lines that look like waves run along the left edge.

The cranes' white bodies are set off by ink shading around their outlines (known as sotokuma), and the vermilion on their heads works as an accent for the whole picture. The large pine that cuts across the screen is painted in quick strokes, and the undergrowth is done in the mokkotsu technique, in which forms are laid down in ink without outlines. The museum says these passages show Shohaku's skill in ink painting.

On the left side of the screen there is a later repair and the traces of a door pull, which show that sliding doors were remade into a folding screen. From the style, signature and seals, the work is thought to date from Shohaku's late twenties to early thirties. Shohaku was born in Kyoto and is known for boldly distorted forms and a forceful brush.