HASHIMOTO CHOBEI: A SIX-PANEL ‘FALCONRY’ BYOBU SCREEN By Hashimoto Chobei, signed with seal Hashimoto Japan, 17th century, early Edo period (1615-1868) Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold paint on paper. Mounted on silk brocade on six lacquered wood panels with chased metal fittings. Each panel depicting a tethered falcon (taka), each positioned slightly differently, standing on a long perch, staring ahead, preening itself, with its head turned in the direction of its companion or perhaps eyeing prey in the distance. SIZE 171 x 378 cm Condition: Good condition with wear, tiny tears, minuscule stains, and losses as visible in the images provided. Falconry (takagari) was introduced to Japan from China in the 4th century. Hunting with hawks and falcons is mentioned in the Kojiki (712). In the Heian period (794-1185), the sport of falconry was practiced by emperors and their courtiers. By the Kamakura period (1185-1333), samurai clans had established various schools, methods and traditions of hunting with falcons and hawks. By the Edo period (1615-1868), falconry was officially patronized by the shogunate and the position of master of falconry was established in the shogunate bureaucracy. Hashimoto Chobei were three generations of hawk picture painters in Tsuruga in the early Edo period and their pictures were valued highly as 'Chobei hawks' or 'Tsuruga hawks' . Interestingly, the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation records a related screen depicting falcons by Hashimoto Chobei II which is attributed to Tokugawa Iemitsu (the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty). Museum comparison: A closely related folding screen of falcon, by Hashimoto Chobei, is in the collection of the Tsuruga City Museum, material number 0151. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related two-panel byobu screen, at Bonhams, The Samurai Sale, 22 October 2009, New York, lot 3049 ( sold for USD 3,965).