Helena Markus – Antique Japanese Screens - edition 2010

Horse racing at the Kamo temple

Couple of six doors screens
Origin: Japan
School: Tosa
Dated: Edo Period (1615-1868), beginning of XVII century
Technique: Ink, mineral and vegetable colors on a golden background
Sizes: H 93.0 x W 284.0 cm

The horse race, a tradition from the ninth century, held May 5 every year at Kamo Shinto shrine located in northern Kyoto, west of Lake Takaragaike.
The painter brilliantly represents the large amount of people, some with horses, which are meeting up for the highly anticipated event.
Horses has always been given a special honor in ancient Japan, the Shinto considers them as messengers between the temporal and the celestial realms and able to control the rains. Buddhism also considers horses symbols of various deities, as Nichiten, God of the sun and Bato Kannon (Kannon with horse head).