A two-fold paper screen painted in ink and colour on a buff ground with
tancho (red caped cranes) and young near a pine tree amongst clouds

Japan Edo period, 18th century
Dimensions: H. 67 inches x W. 70� (170.5cm x 178cm)

The crane a popular subject in Japanese painting, is most closely associated with the New Year and with marriage ceremonies. Cranes also appear as companions or attributes of the sennin, including Oshikyo. They are companions of two of the Seven Gods of Good Luck, Jurojin and Fukurokuju. Because the crane is so closely associated with Mount Horai, the Taoist paradise in the Eastern Sea, it appears with other symbols of Horai such as the pine and the tortoise.