Wind God and Thunder God

This set of two folding screens features the Wind God on the right-hand screen and the Thunder God on the left. This slightly tongue-in-cheek work uses the form of two gods to depict the overwhelming power of nature, in this case wind and thunder. The garments of the two deities flutter in the wind as if a fierce gale is blowing from left to right. The green-hued Wind God seems to have jumped into the screen from the right, while the white-skinned Thunder God seems poised to stop the Wind God in his tracks. The blurry, black-ink rainclouds convey a sense of depth while boldly highlighting the coloring of the two gods. The gazes of the two deities meet and they appear to be dancing together. The artist has focused on harmonizing the two gods into one unified picture. Folding screens served as moveable partitions. They were used to demarcate spaces, block off breezes, and shield things from view.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.