A beautiful and classic evocation of the Japanese aesthetic, this screen portrays the softly contoured hills partially shrouded in clouds. In the top left a shinto shrine floats above the clouds, and in contrast the right section of the screen illustrates lowly saltmakers on the shore, the figures rendered with an endearing detail and not without humour. The semi-abstract quality of the deliberately asymmetrical composition and the sumptuous combination of greens and gold are characteristic of the native Japanese style of 'yamato-e' painting. This style, based on outline and flat colour, had its origins in the literary interests of the Heian period, when such themes as the four seasons and famous scenic places brought a fresh and distinctively Japanese inspiration to native imagery and creativity.