Nijo-jo Castle Painting Gallery: Fall Exhibition in 2023

Chrysanthemums and Folding Fans: Yon-no-ma in the Kuroshoin
The rooms in the Kuroshoin at Ninomaru-goten Palace are decorated with murals of different motifs, including seasonal flowers, birds, and other features.
This exhibition displays all Yon-no-ma (Fourth Room) murals, which fill the room with an autumnal atmosphere. In the Fourth Room, the fusuma sliding
doors and walls below the nageshi (horizontal beams) are decorated with depictions of chrysanthemums in full bloom along various kinds of fences.
Meanwhile, the walls above the nageshi depict various folding fans of different sizes fluttering around against a background of silver grass waving in thewind. These walls below and above the nageshi seem to constitute separate mural surfaces, but both have common features: depicting autumnal herbs andflowers and dealing with favorite motifs in Chinese and Japanese literary works, such as waka and other types of poems. Enjoy taking a close look at thechrysanthemum flowers and fences, which appear to be embossed, as well as the 46 folding fans, which are all portrayed differently.

Imperial visit in the Kan’ei era and the Fourth Room of the Kuroshoin
The Ninomaru-goten Palace was repaired in preparation for receiving avisit from Emperor Gomizunoo (1596–1680) in the third year of the Kan’eiera (1626). The existing murals designated as Important Cultural Properties
were created during the repair. The Kuroshoin, which is located next to theSotetsu-no-ma, in back of the Ohiroma (lit. “Grand Hall”), was called the“Kohiroma” (lit. “Small Hall”) at the time of the imperial visit. As seen byits name, the Kohiroma (Kuroshoin) is a building slightly smaller than theOhiroma. It seems that, while the Ohiroma was used for official meetings,
use of the Kohiroma was limited to meetings with high-ranking nobles,
daimyo, etc. During the imperial visit, the area from the Ni-no-ma (SecondRoom) to the corridors of the Kohiroma (Kuroshoin) was used as a place toentertain princes, priests from the imperial family, and court nobles who
accompanied the emperor. The Second Room on the lower level provided
seats for princes and members of the regent families, the San-no-ma (ThirdRoom) for priests from the imperial family, and the Fourth Room and theeast corridor (Botan-no-ma) for high-ranking court nobles.

Fences, chrysanthemums, and streams
In the Fourth Room, which was formerly called the “Kiku-no-ma” (lit.
“Chrysanthemum Room”), chrysanthemum f lowers of different sizes
depicted below the nageshi catch the eyes of visitors. Their petals, painted
with thick layers of gofun (white pigment made from shell), appear tobe embossed. This technique, which is also applied to the depictions offences, is called “moriage-gofun” (lit. “piled gofun”) or “okiage-gofun” (lit.
“elevated gofun”). Chrysanthemums grow along various kinds of fences.
Straight bamboo fences are depicted on all walls in all directions. Fences
made of a combination of bamboo and brushwood overlap bamboo fences
near the center of the south side (displayed at the front in the gallery) andfrom the northernmost part of the west side to the north side (displayedon the right side seen from the front in the gallery). Brushwood fences
are depicted from the eastern part of the tobusuma sliding doors on thenorth side nearly to the center of the fusuma sliding doors on the eastside (displayed on the left side seen from the front in the gallery). Thesefences stand on the bottom of the surfaces or on the gilt ground. Behind
the ground surfaces on the south to west sides and on the north side areultramarine streams. On the north and east sides, green embankments
stretch in front of and behind the fences. On and around the embankmentson the east side are ground bamboos, gentians, and asters.
However, it is thought that the sliding doors on the north and east sides,
facing the corridors, were removed when the room was used to entertain
guests during the imperial visit and on other occasions, for the convenienceof access and lighting. In such a case, visitors could not see the depictionsof embankments and plants other than chrysanthemums. They could see
only fences, chrysanthemums, and streams portrayed on the remaining
south and west walls. These three elements are associated with many
Chinese and Japanese literary works. The chrysanthemum, a species nativeto China, was used as a fragrant and medicinal herb and was thought tosymbolize nobleness and avert evil. The custom of drinking sake withchrysanthemum flowers soaked therein in hope of longevity on the day of
the Chrysanthemum Festival (the ninth day of the ninth month on the lunar
calendar) is thought to have been established in China during the Western
Han period (206 BCE to 8 AD) at the latest. The fourth day of Emperor
Gomizunoo’s visit to Nijo-jo Castle was the day of the Chrysanthemum
Festival, when Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632), a former shogun,presented the emperor with a silver pail with artificial chrysanthemum
flowers in it.
The custom of celebrating the Chrysanthemum Festival began to bepracticed in Japan in the Heian period. Around that time, people in Japancame to know the legend of “chrysanthemum water,” a stream of dew
falling from chrysanthemum flowers as a remedy that brings longevity, andthe Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (365–427), who loved chrysanthemums,
both of which offered recurrent motifs in Japanese poetry. The legendof “chrysanthemum water” inspired not only many waka poems but also
the tale of Kikujido, which was created by a Tendai-school priest in theKamakura period. This Buddhist tale in turn provided inspiration forNoh plays, such as Kikujido and Makurajido. The streams depicted withchrysanthemums may have reminded visitors to the Fourth Room of thelegend of “chrysanthemum water” and Kikujido. Also, the visitors may
have associated the combination of fences and chrysanthemums with apassage from a poem by Tao Yuanming: “Plucking chrysanthemums underthe eastern fence / serenely gazing at the southern mountains.”

Folding fans fluttering in the windAbove the nageshi are 46 folding fans of different sizes scatteredagainst a background of silver grass waving in the wind. While all thesefans are depicted as unfolded, there are two kinds of fans in terms of therepresentation of shape: ones with a jagged edge due to the pleats andones with a smooth arc edge, without depictions of pleats. The former
kind of fan has 10 ribs, while the latter has 12 to 18 ribs. Fans with 15
ribs account for a majority of fans of the latter kind. In the world of Noh,the shite (protagonist), the waki (deuteragonist), and the tsure (tritagonist
supporting the shite and the waki) have fans called “chukei” with 15 ribs,
while musicians and others have fans called “shizume-ogi” with 10 ribs,that are also used in Noh dance in plain cloths. It is unknown whether allof the fans with 12 or more ribs are chukei, but it is certain that these fansare intentionally depicted differently. The fans widely vary in terms of
their rib colors: some with each rib painted in a single color of red, green,brown, or black, some with half of the ribs painted in a single color and theremaining half in a different single color, some with every few ribs painedin a different color, and so on.
In addition, all fans differ in terms of the painting on them. The motifs
range widely from flowers, birds, herbs, trees, and India-ink landscapes
to various Japanese-style objects and patterns, painted on the gilt,
ultramarine, gold- or sliver-dusted, plain, or other ground. Interestingly,
seven fans are decorated with the motif of fences, while a fan depicts
autumnal herbs that closely resemble a part of the mural of fences andchrysanthemums below the nageshi (exhibited in the front).
By the way, silver grass in ear depicted in the background indicates that
it is fall. “Fans in fall” denote things that are no longer necessary, aftersummer, when people need fans, is over. This motif is based on the legendof Ban Jieyu (c. 1st cen. BCE), a woman of the inner palace in the Western
Han who compared herself to a fan in fall after losing the favor of theemperor. This legend also inspired many waka and other literary works inJapan, including the Noh play Hanjo created by Zeami in the Muromachi
period (1336–1573).
The motifs of both the murals below and above the nageshi are associatedwith Noh plays. It is well known that warlords in the Warring States
period loved Noh (= Sarugaku) as an indispensable form of entertainment
on festive occasions and that the Tokugawa shogunate also protected
Noh and used it for ritual and ceremonial purposes. At Nijo-jo Castle
as well, Tokugawa Ieyasu and subsequent shoguns often held Sarugaku
performances, and Emperor Gomizunoo was also entertained with aSarugaku performance presented on the fourth day of his visit to the castle.
Although neither Kikujido nor Hanjo were included in the program thatday, the murals of the Fourth Room of the Kuroshoin must have reminded
court nobles and high-ranking samurai, who were highly educated in
Chinese and Japanese literature, of various literary works, including Noh
Naoko Matsumoto (Assistant Curator, Nijo-jo Castle)
plays.