Panel from a shrine or temple

From Japan
Edo period, 17th century AD

This wooden openwork panel would have been used as part of the wall above the sliding doors to decorate the exterior of a temple or shrine. It is deeply carved to allow the passage of air in the hottest summer weather. It was originally brightly painted. Such panels were a favourite feature of the architecture of the Edo period in Japan (1600-1868).

The subjects here are the tiger and bamboo, which are often shown together in Japanese art; the strength of the tiger is complemented by that of the bamboo, which bends but does not break.

L. Smith, V. Harris and T. Clark, Japanese art: masterpieces in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)