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Namban Screens

Kanō Naizen · Kobe City Museum · c. 1600

Right screenLeft screen
Namban Screens by Kanō Naizen, right-hand folding screen
The Black Ship (kurofune) The Black Ship (kurofune) A Portuguese carrack (Port. nau) dropping anchor at Nagasaki or another port in southern Japan, the defining compositional element across the corpus of "Arrivals" screens. Their hulls were painted black with pitch for waterproofing, hence the name "black ship" (Jap. kurofune). Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Arrival of a Portuguese ship, one of a pair (Nanban screens) Arrival of a Portuguese ship, one of a pair (Nanban screens) Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Arrival of the "Southern Barbarians" Arrival of the "Southern Barbarians" Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Folding Screen with the Arrival of a Portuguese Ship Folding Screen with the Arrival of a Portuguese Ship Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Namban Screens Namban Screens Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Namban folding screens Namban folding screens Detail of The Black Ship (kurofune) on Namban folding screens Namban folding screens See all 7 examples → Compare side by side →
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Object

Artist
Kanō Naizen
Date
c. 1600
Period
Azuchi–Momoyama / early Edo
Collection
Kobe City Museum
Location
Kobe, Japan
Materials
Ink, color, and gold leaf on paper
Format
Pair of six-panel folding screens (byōbu)
Provenance
Kanō school commission; municipal collection

A Portuguese nao drops anchor at Nagasaki; Jesuit priests, African retainers, and merchants in bombastic pantaloons parade before a castle.