T he unusually long surface of this screen has been covered with poppy flowers in full bloom. Here, the delicate, frail beauty of these colorful flowers is expressed with skill and sensitivity. This is the same seal found on the National Treasure painting Water Fowl in the Lotus Pond . This seal is considered to be the trademark of the painting studio run by Tawaraya Sotatsu. Many think that the seal is that of Sotatsu himself.
Poppies are a flower that bloom in the summer.
The gold foil that covers the background of the paper perhaps represents the brilliant sunlight of a summer day. If the artist had used silver foil instead of gold for the background, the scene would have depicted a moonlit summer's night. One can envision the the former owner of this screen taking it out on a sunny day. Stretched out on the tatami mats in a room opening onto a garden, this screen would have made the perfect accompaniment to a summer's party. In the text, he gives Chikanari the Buddhist name Shoei and a second name of Shunkei, and celebrates them with a commemorative poem.