The elegant composition of cranes among flowers on these holiday cards, originally presented in a seasonal progression from spring to winter, is a suggestion of longevity. It comes from a pair of lavish six-panel folding screens made in late 16th-century Japan during the Momoyama period (1573–1615), when images with exaggerated, high-relief details were popular. Vivid colors and strong ink outlines against a golden background are characteristic of Kano Motonobu (Japanese, 1476–1559), founder of the famous Kano school of painting, while the boldness is evocative of his grandson Kano Eitoku (Japanese, 1543–1590).
