Screens with the Three Friends of Winter, Mochizuki Gyokusen, c. 1800 - c. 1850

paper, h 168cm × w 363cm More details

Bamboo, pine, and prunus are the ‘three friends of winter’. This is because the first two remain green in winter, and the cherry blossom is the harbinger of spring. The pine tree in the left screen reveals that the worst of the cold has passed: snow is sliding from one of its branches. Gyokusen has made clever use of the white paper to indicate the areas of snow.