Keywords
Art History
Painting
Sliding screens with paintings of thirty-two Chinese sages, which form the main wall behind the Emperor's throne in the Shishinden 紫宸殿 of Kyoto Gosho 京都御所. The practice was borrowed during the reign of Emperor Uda 宇多 (r. 887-97) from China, where the Emperor's palace was traditionally decorated with paintings of meritorious retainers and sages. The oldest extant work was painted in 1613 by Kano Takanobu 狩野孝信 (1571-1618) and was moved to Ninnaji 仁和寺 in 1642.