On the right screen are plum blossoms with other spring flowers nearby; further to the left are the irises of summer in bloom. Nightingales and cuckoos celebrate both seasons. The left screen shows autumn and winter, represented by hibiscus, snowy bamboo, a kingfisher, and pheasants. Each screen bears two seals of Kano Sanboku. Little is known about Sanboku, except that he was a student of both Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) and Kano Sansetsu (1590-1651), the two great masters of the Kyoto branch of the Kano school. His subdued depiction of the four seasons is reminiscent of Sansetsu's art and is almost colorless, eschewing the exuberance that was attractive to the warrior customers of the early Edo period.
Kano Sansetsu was a Japanese painter, also known as Kano Heishiro. He was born in Hizen Province, Kyushu, and died in Kyoto.
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