Rediscovered Sliding Door Paintings Unite with British Museum Collection

A series of sliding door paintings from an old house in Nakadomari, Aomori Prefecture, has been confirmed to be part of the same series as the “Autumn and Winter Flowers and Birds” painting in the British Museum collection.

Image: A sliding door painting on a detached house of the Miyakoshi family, an old family home, which has been confirmed to be part of the same series as the “Autumn and Winter Flowers and Birds” painting in the British Museum collection (Courtesy of Nakadomari Museum)

Image: “Autumn and Winter Flowers and Birds” by Kano Munegan Shigenobu, housed at the British Museum (provided by the British Museum and Nakadomari Town, Aomori Prefecture; the town has edited four images into one)

Four sliding door paintings from the annex of the Miyakoshi family, an old family home in Nakadomari, Aomori Prefecture, have been confirmed to be part of the same series as four “Autumn and Winter Flower and Bird Paintings” housed at the British Museum in London. This discovery was announced at a press conference held in the town by Yoshiya Yamashita, a former senior researcher at Kyoto National Museum and a researcher of the Kano school.

According to Yamashita, the paintings from the old family home, which are works by a leading Kano school artist, depict spring and summer, making a total of eight paintings of flowers and birds for the four seasons. The connection between the paintings was confirmed through a detailed examination of the artwork, including the mountain stream painted on the right edge of the British Museum’s painting, which is connected to the left edge of the sliding door painting of the old house. The pattern of the metal handle was also found to be the same.

The town will be open to the public from the 4th of next month, offering a unique opportunity to view these remarkable paintings.