Introduction

According to Shinto beliefs, every creature and feature of the natural world is animated by a kami, a spirit, and there is no question that the artist who painted these striking screens infused the crows with the spirit of life. The screens present ninety crows in a world of their own: taking flight or preparing to land, cawing, resting, and eating—oblivious to any human presence. The painter has strategically arranged the crows in order to invite viewers to imagine gazing up in wonder at creatures who seem to defy gravity as they soar through the skies. We don’t know who painted these screens, because like so many Edo-period artists, whoever created them did not sign the work. (Many artists considered themselves artisans rather than artists, perhaps unworthy of signing their name.) 

Another artist, Nagasawa Rosetsu, created an unusually long scroll to convey the majesty of the kami believed to inhabit the waterfall at Nachi. He also used the power of empty space to suggest the cascading water by only painting the outlines around it. He placed a tiny human figure at the bottom to invite viewers to experience the awe someone might feel standing beneath the real Nachi waterfall as it gushes for 440 feet, straight down.