taisō byōbu 太宗屏風

A type of folding screen *byōbu 屏風 used in the Imperial Palace during the Heian period. Frequently mentioned in Heian records, such screens were put out on many different occasions, but their subject-matter is still unclear. Since the term taisō 太宗, or "founder of a dynasty," is often associated with the Chinese Tang dynasty, the screens designated thus may have been decorated with paintings on Chinese subjects *kara-e 唐絵. One theory holds that they depicted men in the costume of the Chinese Tang dynasty playing polo on horseback. Also written with characters meaning Great Song or 大宋.