曽我直庵筆　架鷹図押絵貼屏風|Tethered Hawks

Art Historical Context

Behold the striking *Tethered Hawks*, pair of six-panel folding attributed to Soga Chokuan (also known as Itt Jōteki or Shōteki), created before 1606 during Japan's vibrant Momoyama period (3–1615). Comprising twelve individual paintings in ink and color on paper these screens exemplify the era's bold decorative arts, where opulent screens adorned the residences of samurai lords and nobility. Measuring over 11 feet wide when open, they would have transformed interiors into immersive landscapes, showcasing the artist's skill in capturing the poised intensity of tethered hawks. Hawks held profound cultural symbolism in feudal Japan, representing nobility, keen vision, and the thrill of falconry—a favored pastime among the warrior elite. This motif reflects the Momoyama taste for dynamic, naturalistic subjects rendered with vivid colors and fluid ink lines, mounted in the traditional *okuziebari* style (押絵貼り), where paintings are pasted onto the screen surface for a seamless, jewel-like effect. Such screens were not mere decoration but status symbols, evoking power and refinement. Today, this masterpiece graces the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection, a testament to the enduring allure of Momoyama elegance. Visitors can marvel at how these hawks seem ready to soar, bridging art and aristocratic life across centuries.