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      Fig. 50 Minakami Taisei, Fukuoka artist (d. 1950s), screen on wall of Consul-General David Pabst's living room, Nishinomiya, 11 ft (3.3 m).

      Westerners may see erotic calendars-one picture for each month of the year, characterized by more or fewer clothes on the naked-ish bodies, and the appearance of fans or a brazier as the seasons change. The couple remains the same: the male tanned, the female white. As explained in the chapter on ukiyo-e and prints, erotic images are common, so decisions about children and appropriate placing come up.

      Few hand scrolls have been made during the last hundred years, so they are becoming rarer. This may be linked to utility in the multimedia age. They are too much of a throwback to an earlier age to order in quantity. The painting can be very fine but the quality of the whole may decline with use, so it is important to check carefully. Another aspect to consider is utility or display: where and how? It is common to find hand scrolls that have been chopped up into the constituent images for easier sale or for displaying flat, rather than in a roll.

      Collecting Screens and Scrolls

      There is no surer way of bringing a touch of the exotic Orient into your home than putting up a screen or scroll. Automatically visitors' eyes move that way and questions form which could electrify an evening. In Japan's long art history, thousands of artists and scholars have made attractive pictures and it is silly to say that one should collect this or that artist. It makes sense to find out first if you like the field at all by looking around at museums, galleries, and friends' houses before spending any money. If you find they appeal after you get used to them, then go around more galleries and museums to find out in which direction your interests lie.

      Prices for the Kanō school studio master, or famous modern artists like Uemura Shōen, have many zeros (like Impressionist or Cubist artists). The prices involved and the proposed position and decor in a room decide whether you want to splurge. On the other hand, older hanging scrolls by unknown artists are extremely cheap-perhaps $100-200 for "nameless" scrolls in so-so condition in Japan. This is, in fact, much less than the new materials cost.

      The changes in Japan's housing, away from large communal houses to nuclear family "mansions" (with no room to swing a cat, let alone display a screen), mean that there are too many so-so scrolls or screens and hence they go for low prices compared with their intrinsic worth, or indeed replacement cost. The market for traditional art shapes is poor, and so for the last hundred years a lot of innovation has taken place in other "shapes;" this is covered towards the end of the print chapter.

      Warning Advice

      The photographs in this chapter are of excellent screens and scrolls but be aware that forgery occurs, particularly with "famous" names like Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958); if you counted up how many pieces he "signed," he would have been working day and night for 1,000 years and still be producing long after his death! Similarly, I was once offered a print signed by the great nearly blind print artist Munakata Shikō (1903-75). Inquisitive, I was quoted ¥40,000. I said I thought it was fake and offered him ¥2,000 ($18) for fun. He took it gratefully and now I am stuck with a dubious print.

      If you become seriously interested in screens or scrolls, you deserve a serious partner, so should get close to a famous dealer who has an interest in guarding unsullied her/his reputation and so will respect you for asking for the best.

      Fig. 51 "Sakyamuni Shaka Rising from the Gold Coffin," hanging scroll, color on silk, 11th c., 5 ft 3 in x 7ft 5 in (1.6 x 2.3 m), National Treasure, Kyoto National Museum. When Shaka's mother, Maya, hurried down from heaven crying, Shaka lifted the coffin lid, told her of the frailty of life and got back in. His body radiates thousands of rays, each holding thousands of Buddhas at his divine resurrection. Photo courtesy Kyoto National Museum.

      Fig. 52 "Amida Coming over the Mountain," hanging scroll, color on silk, 13th c., 4ft x 2ft 6 in (1.2 x 0.7 m). National Treasure, Kyoto National Museum. Unusually, Amida looks half to the left, right hand up, left hand down. Photo courtesy Kyoto National Museum.

      Avoid printed pieces if you are hoping to make money eventually. They will never become expensive: if they did, somebody would print a few thousand more. If you want to decorate a room, they are fine and cheaper than originals and may indeed be by famous artists-originally!

      Paper and silk were both used for making scrolls and screens. Paper is cheaper but is less resistant to tearing. The condition of a screen or scroll is absolutely vital because re-backing or extensive restoration can cost major sums of money. A Pittsburgh friend had a two-panel screen done up in Japan for $700. Before leaving the country, he realized that taking it back to the US would cost too much and he had the screen auctioned. He received just a third of the cost of the remounting alone.

      A screen or scroll should have no obvious damage or dirty marks. The condition of the paper on the back is not so important, as changing that is not dear and can be done later. Besides, guests will not normally see it. People who love paper will find that scrolls are backed by a fantastic array of different papers.

      Washi has an unrivalled place in the paper world, being strong and of infinite variety. (See Sukey Hughes' comprehensive book on the subject.) I have bought several cheap scrolls for the paper alone! Though less paper is made by hand these days, there are still villages like Kurodani or Najio which depend on it for their livelihood.

      Fig. 53 Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800), "Cocks and Hens," fusuma painting, 1790, detail from set of nine wall panels formerly in Kai-hō-ji, Fushimi, Kyoto. Photo courtesy Kyoto National Museum.

      Fig. 54 "Crows on a Plum Branch" (detail), six door panels attributed to Unkoku Tog an (1547-1618), colors and gold leaf on paper, each 5 ft 4 in x 5 ft 1 in (1.6 x 1.5 m). Panels originally at Najima Castle (built 1588-9). Typical Momoyama composition of huge plum with crows in the snow. Photo courtesy Kyoto National Museum.

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