Horse Race at the Kamo Shrine
Unknown Artist
early to mid-1600s
Medium
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens, ink and color on gilded paper
Dimensions
176.5 × 377.3 cm · image: 161 × 362 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1976.95.1
About this artwork
Kamo Shrine in Kyoto, seen in the upper half of the left screen, has held an annual horse race on May 5th since the ninth century. Serving as a snapshot of the festivities, this pair of screens captures nearly 600 people watching the race, beginning at the bottom part of the right screen and continuing to the left. The race is a great spectacle where aristocratic riders cling to their fast and unwieldy mounts. While many of those in attendance seem in rapt attention to the main event, other vign...