Scenes from Essays in Idlenesslate 1700s–early 1800s · Study 1971.43.1

Context from the museum

Matsumura Goshun inscribed passages from Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenkō’s (1283–1350) well-known collection of anecdotes, Essays in Idleness, across the top of the panels of this screen and its pair. Goshun illustrated the narratives with his vision of the figures who feature in them. The texts cascade down from right to left, forming unique compositional relationships with the images below. The episodes offer a veritable portrait of human idiosyncrasy, from one man’s deep faith in radishes to another’s inability to avoid nicknames.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for Scenes from Essays in Idleness is 330.7 cm wide and 146.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 130.2 × 57.7 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 2.26:1. The rectangular bounding area is 4.84 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 110.2% of the span before adding a frame. That exceeds the example wall width, so a smaller reference wall would not reproduce the recorded scale. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Scenes from Essays in Idleness in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on paper, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 330.7 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?