Hizen Nagoya Castle byōbu

The Hizen Nagoya Castle is an elaborate and dazzling piece of art which reflects the dynamic atmosphere of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s military headquarters in full glory. With the traditional rakuchū rakugai style, Kanō Mitsunobu combines the detailed view from above with genre scenes. The central image is a massive white multi-level keep and the palatial areas around it protected by stone walls and deep moats. The intricate golden clouds interweaving between the panels not only separate the busy landscape but also highlight the richness of the Momoyama era. Beneath the castle walls, the screens capture the unprecedented mobilization of history. There are hundreds of characters depicted with painstaking detail in the composition: samurai on the move among the camps, traders in action within the merchant districts, and boats clustered in the waters of the harbor. Mitsunobu captures the challenging topography of Hizen Province with precision, converting what would have been a site of military organization into a human tapestry of activity. The work makes use of richly colored mineral paints in bright blues, malachite greens, and brilliant whites against a backdrop of gold leaf. The image depicts the immense castle compound at the height of its glory, plotting the five-floor main keep (tenshu), palace structures, intricate system of moats, and stone fortifications. The image serves as visual documentation of the landscape where no fewer than 16 different warlord camps (daimyō) and countless numbers of samurai warriors established their camps, making real the massive effort. The image accentuates the busy port and the coastline, stressing the importance of Nagoya as the maritime gateway linking Japan, Korea, and continental Asia.