鶏頭は、早くから日本に入って自生した植物であるが、玉蜀黍（とうもろこし）は、この作品が描かれた17世紀より100年と遡らない頃、西洋人によってもたらされた。この屏風の筆者は、不明であるが、これらの2品種を、迫真性と創意工夫性のある作品に仕上げている。玉蜀黍の葉は、輪を描くように広がり、だらりともたれかかるが、鶏頭は、茎が鮮やかに赤く、気高く直立している。

Although cockscomb is native to Japan, maize was introduced there from the West within a century of this work’s creation. The artist of this screen, unknown to us today, created a compelling and innovative vision of these two very different plants. The curled leaves of the maize splay outward and flop over lazily, while the bright red stalks of the cockscombs stand proudly erect.

This screen was originally the right half of a pair, and though it is difficult to determine where these screens would have been displayed in an interior, it appears that the work is by an artist of the studio of Tawaraya Sotatsu (active 1602–c. 1640) in Kyoto or Kanazawa, whose compositions are known for their botanical accuracy and who were sponsored by prominent aristocrats and warrior lords.

Rotation 1: June 26-August 9, 2009

During the Edo period, the prosperity and political unification of Japan under the ruling Tokugawa shoguns led to the emergence of a magnificent Japanese decorative style characterized by a love of bold patterns and bright colors. This new style was supported by the military class, a disenfranchised aristocracy, and a thriving class of merchants and entrepreneurs. The surviving half of an original pair, this splendid screen elegantly embodies both the techniques of ancient court painters and the curiosity and confidence so prevalent in the Edo period. Bursting with sensual fullness, the maize and cockscombs are rendered with the accuracy of a botanical drawing, a testimony to the era’s interest in natural science. The appearance of maize, a grain not native to Japan, indicates a willingness to assimilate new subject matter on the part of Edo artists and patrons.

— Entry, Essential Guide, 2009, p. 95.