The massive black trunk of an ancient plum tree with curving, twisting branches spans nearly six feet across four sliding panels. The reptilian old tree sprouts blossoms, conveying the atmosphere of a cold early spring morning and symbolizing birth and renewal. These panels originally formed a wall of a room in the Tenshōin, a sub-temple of Myōshinji, a Zen temple in Kyoto. In the 1880s they were sold to a private collector and trimmed at the top to fit the smaller dimensions of his home.
Kano Sansetsu was a Japanese painter, also known as Kano Heishiro. He was born in Hizen Province, Kyushu, and died in Kyoto.
