Tiger
early to mid-1600s
Medium
six-panel folding screen; ink, slight color, gold, and silver on paper
Dimensions
painting only: 158.1 × 304.8 cm · including mounting: 173.4 × 377.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1985.134.2
Tags
About this artwork
A tiger looks upon a waterfall as it prowls out of a bamboo grove on this screen, and a dragon dives through clouds on the right. Tiger and dragon are traditional symbols of the balancing forces in the world, yin (the feminine aspect) and yang (the masculine aspect). This painting has a signature and seals, identifying it as a work by Soga Nichokuan, a painter thought to be from Sakai (near Osaka), and known primarily for his representations of hawk-eagles (kumataka).