Scenes of city and country (Tohi zukan)

Sumiyoshi Gukei

Handscroll painting, 'Scenes of city and country (Tohi zukan) by Sumiyoshi Gukei, painted in ink and colours on silk, Japan, 1691-1705. Serving as official painter to the ruling Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (modern Tokyo), Sumiyoshi Gukei (1631-1705) painted three handscrolls of life in ‘the old capital’: Kyoto. As the scroll moves through the bustling city and out to its environs, the seasons also shift. Although this scroll has suffered extensive discolouration, the close attention to detail that characterises works of the Sumiyoshi school can still be enjoyed. The other two examples are preserved at Tokyo National Museum and Kōfukuin temple, Nara.