Kakemono: Five Centuries of Japanese Painting

A comprehensive survey of kakemono, the classical Japanese art of the wall scroll

Spanning Japanese painting from the 16th to the 19th centuries, this thrilling volume presents a selection of 120 kakemonos from the Perino collection in Italy.

The kakemono (literally hanging thing) is a Japanese painting or calligraphy, on silk, cotton or paper, contained as a scroll and intended to be hung on the wall.

Unlike a hemakimono--a roll that is opened horizontally on a surface--the kakemono opens vertically and is designed as an indoor wall decoration. Being connected to anniversaries, specific periods of the year or special occasions, it is displayed only temporarily and then placed, carefully rolled up, in a special box.

The subjects are mainly taken from nature (flowers, birds, fish) and show a naturalism and a tremendous accuracy of detail. Works of rare beauty by artists such as Maruyama Okyo, Kishi Ganku and Kusumi Morikage are included here.