Provenance

According to information given by the dealer, Mr. Marumoto, the screens belonged to a prominent family of obi sash makers in Kyoto until about ten years ago. They were displayed by the family at the front of their residence in Yamaboko-chô on the eve of the Gion Festival in July of each year. When the family had to sell the screens, they chose to do so through an art club in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, rather than through a dealer in Kyoto so as not to draw any attention to themselves. To this day they still wish to have their identity undisclosed. Mr. Fujii, a conservator of Japanese art, bought the screens in Matuse and then sold them to Professor Nobuhiko Furuko, President of the Environmental Study Organization (Seikatsu Kankyô Kenkyûkai Kaichô). Professor Furuko consigned them to Mr. Marumoto for sale in New York during Asia Week in March of 2002.