Resumo
Es e a igo iden i ica e c i ica o alo da quie ude como condição necessá ia pa a a
exposição e ap eciação de objec os de a e como os biombos Namban do século XVI,
cujas his ó ia e unção são ca ac e izadas po o mas de mo imen o. Baseando-me
em abalho de campo em gale ias de museus que expõem es es biombos no Japão,
em Po ugal e na Amé ica do No e, i ei mos a em de alhe como a in e p e ação da
his ó ia da a e da passagem ísica des es objec os e o seu alo como pa imónio cul-
u al se baseiam num pon o ixo pe spec i is a de edes e num pa adigma isual. Os
p ocessos de conse ação e exposição de museus podem se en endidos como ex-
ensões des e pa adigma. Po meio do con olo ambien al, di igido à localização de
conhecimen o pe cep i o no que es á disponí el pa a a isão e pa a a a enuação ne-
cessá ia de ou os sen idos, os mo imen os ma e iais do objec o e os mo imen os dos
ma e iais cons i uin es do objec o são apaziguados. O a gumen o é a a o de uma
abo dagem senso ial dos museus e dos seus objec os, que nes e caso êm em con-
a os mo imen os ma e iais dos biombos ao a ai os sen idos a a és do ‘ oque de
som’ assim como da isão.
Abs ac
This pape iden i ies and c i iques he alue o s illness as a necessa y condi ion o
he display and app ecia ion o a objec s like he 16 h cen u y Japanese
Namban
sc eens, whose his o y and unc ion is cha ac e ised by o ms o mo emen . D awing
on mul i-si ed ieldwo k in museum galle ies ha display hese sc eens in Japan, Po -
ugal and No h Ame ica I will de ail how he a -his o ical in e p e a ion o he phy-
sical passage o hese objec s and hei alue as cul u al he i age is based upon he
ixed poin pe spec i ism o ne wo ks and a isualis pa adigm. Museum ocused p o-
cesses o conse a ion and display can be unde s ood as ex ending his pa adigm. By
means o en i onmen al con ols, di ec ed owa ds he loca ion o pe cep ible mea-
ning in wha is a ailable o ision and he necessa y a enua ion o he o he senses
he ma e ial mo emen s
o
he objec and mo emen s o cons i uen ma e ials
in
he
objec a e s illed. The a gumen is o a senso y app oach o museums and he objec s
wi hin hem, which in his case akes accoun o he ma e ial mo emen s o he
sc eens by engaging he senses h ough he ‘ ouch o sound’ as well as ision. •
pala as-cha e
A e namban
Ma e ialidade
Visualidade
Pa imónio
An opologia senso ial
key-wo ds
Namban a
Ma e iali y
Visualism
He i age
Senso y an h opology
Pape
The public exhibi ion o local his o y in Nagasaki ci y, Japan, p esen s s a egic and
cu a o ial challenges o an unusual kind as all aspec s o he ci y’s pas and p es-
en mus con end wi h na ional and global esponsibili ies o ela e he s o y o he
agedy o he a omic bombing in 1946. I is a gloomy image o he ci y o esiden s
and many isi o s alike and coun e ed by ambi ious and expensi e ci y council
sponso ed p ojec s such as he e-c ea ion o he 17 h cen u y Du ch se lemen a
Dejima inished in 1998 and since 2005, by he ‘Nagasaki Museum o His o y and
Cul u e’ (
Nagasaki Rekishi Bunka Hakubu sukan
). This museum ocuses delibe a ely
on he his o y p io o he mode n pe iod o mili a ism in he 1930’s and 1940’s and
i s ca aclysmic ending. I s a s by looking back o he o iginal, 16 h cen u y o eign
se le s o he ci y, he Po uguese missiona ies and me chan s e e ed o as
‘Sou he n Ba ba ians’ (
Nambanjin
). The encoun e s be ween hese in-come s and
Japanese esiden s a e e idenced p ima ily by he image y o he olding sc eens
(
byôbu
) which depic hei mee ing as an exo ically pic u esque space o cul u al
exchange, mu ual disco e y and in some ins ances o comic mimic y (Toby 1998).
(FIG. 1) Ships, goods, people and ideas mo e ac oss wha is ypically a six paneled
expanse o he sc een, d i en by elemen al o ces o wind and sea, bu also by he
passions o ai h and p o i . The museum encou ages an app ecia ion o hese
mo emen s as pa o a jou ney o he imagina ion, in o a oman ic wo ld now
ha dly isible in he u ban a chi ec u e o he ci y ou side bu e oked wi hin he
museum by pa icula echniques o displaying he sc eens.1As a isi o en e s he
ini ial co ido o he exhibi ion, hey encoun e o-scale ep oduc ions o he
amous
Namban byôbu
, a ibu ed o he pain e Kanô Naizen2and a e su ounded
by he sounds o lapping wa e , wind and sea bi ds. The sounds index a pic o ial
eading o he sc eens, which show one o he g ea
Nao
sailing essels depa ing,
jou neying, a i ing and being disemba ked a a loca ion which is mos likely
OBJECTS THAT MOVE:
JAPANESE NAMBAN SCREENS
IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
RUPERT COX
Facul y o Social Sciences, Social An h opology,
Uni e si y o Manches e , A hu Lewis Building,
Ox o d Road
127
REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
1The esea ch upon which his pape is based was
gene ously suppo ed by a small esea ch g an
om he B i ish Academy and by a majo esea ch
g an om he Economic and Social Resea ch
Council, UK. Thanks a e also due o he ollowing
pe sons and ins i u ions: Alexand a Cu elo, Ya-
mamo o, Yukio, Museum o An ique A , Lisbon;
Po land A Museum; Nagasaki Museum o His-
o y and Cul u e.
2These sc eens a e held by he Kobe ci y museum
as pa o he
Namban Komo
collec ion.
Nagasaki i sel . The p oxima e na u e o hese sounds and indeed o he sc eens
hemsel es, which a e no behind glass, does no in i e he kind o c i ical dis ance
and a en ion paid o objec s o a is ic alue in an a museum o galle y se ing.
They a e no placed o sc u iny o o linge ing in on o , due o he cons an pass-
ing low o isi o s in his co ido . Ins ead he isi o is led onwa ds h ough a
ch onology o Nagasaki’s his o y by an a ay o mul i-media de ices, which ha e he
desi ed du a ion o an obse e ’s a en ion buil in o hei design. The e a e, a e
all, only so many imes i is possible o lis en com o ably o he same sound loop
o wa es and bi ds and 16 h cen u y cou music, be o e mo ing o ano he exhibi .
This es lessly media ed na a i e his o y o Nagasaki ends wi h he en ance o a
second sec ion o he exhibi ion’s display whe e he gene osi y o space wi hin and
be ween all, wide, highly polished and empe a u e con olled glass cases ep o-
duces he mode nis design and pu pose o he a museum amilia o he capi al
ci ies o Eu ope and No h Ame ica. He e, he a en ion o he isi o who looks
upon he a angemen o asso ed, o iginal
Namban byôbu
in hese cases is
engaged by he con olled absence o dis ac ions, as he en i onmen is egula ed
so as o s ill he senses and o concen a e ision. Sound is no buil in o he dis-
play mechanisms as elsewhe e and in as much as i is a unc ion o he p esence o
isi o s i is mu ed by hei sel -conscious cau ion. Fo hey a e awa e o he e e -
be an quali ies o he galle y’s cons i uen ma e ials - wood, glass and s eel – and
a e sensi i e o hei own oices in con e sa ion and he po en ially unwelcome
publici y o being o e hea d. This kind o s illness is o cou se common o he
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
128 REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
FIG. 1 - A pai o Namban
byôbu
a ibu ed o Kanô Naizen and held in he
Namban Komo
collec ion o he Kobe ci y museum.
expe ience o looking a many o he kinds o museum o galle y exhibi ed a -wo ks
in a ious loca ions, bu i achie es a pa icula e ec in ega d o he academic
app ecia ion o
Namban Byôbu
and akes on pa icula signi icances in his museum
in Nagasaki (Cox 2008). These e ec s and signi icances a e wo h conside ing as
hey e eal he cons ain o senso y modes o appe cep ion besides and alongside
ision. They also e eal he ways in which he sc eens a e objec s which we e made
o be mobile and pe o ma i e (Lippi 2007) and which as con luences o con-
s i uen ma e ials a e also cons an ly in a p ocess o mo emen and change. I
shows how exhibi ion s a egies a e cons uc ed a ound he desi e o need o s ill
and con ol hese mo emen s in o de ell di e en s o ies ac oss museum collec-
ions, s o ies o enewal, disco e y and philan h opy.
In his case, he na a i e o aes he ic app ecia ion buil in o he display en i onmen
con i ms he au hen ici y o he objec s and he e aci y o he ope a ion o sigh
in hei obse a ion. This kind o a en i e ision embeds and solidi ies he pic o ial
con en o he sc eens wi hin he his o y o he ci y and he his o y o a . I a i ms
he se iousness o he museum as a eposi o y o aes he ic knowledge and wo ks
alongside he senso y design o he mul i-media ed imagina ium in he i s pa o
he exhibi ion, which e okes an exo ic pas .
Recen an h opological wo k on ma e ial cul u e has d awn a en ion o he way ha
museums cons uc senso y egis e s o he objec s in hei displays which may
wo k wi h as well as agains he ways in which hey we e made o be app ehended
(Edwa ds e al. 2006). As such, he senso y ealms o exhibi ion spaces may es ain
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
129
REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
and di ec he app ecia ion o ma e ial cul u e in o knowledgeable o ms ha ep o-
duce colonial, na ional, local and co po a e egimes o powe and au ho i y. Vision
emains he p ima y means and o ganizing p inciple o such discu si e de e mina-
ions, ex ending a linguis ic pa adigm whe eby he alue o objec s may be ead and
acked ou wa ds om hei isible appea ance in o ne wo ks o signi ica ion. Wi hin
hese ne wo ks, objec s a e ea ed as s a ic nodes, connec ing poin s o p oduc ion,
dissemina ion and ecep ion which in he 16 h cen u y would ha e included Kyo o,
Nagasaki, Hi ado, Macao, Goa, Lisbon and loca ions in Mexico. Today, i would include
he a ious museums and p i a e collec ions whe e
Namban Byôbu
a e held bu also
he pa icula wo kshops and s udios whe e hey a e epai ed and conse ed. This
app oach o ma e ial cul u e, which ollows Ac o -Ne wo k-Theo y (ANT) by ea ing
he agency o a as a dis ibu ed p ocess (Knappe 2008, 139), is a means o map-
ping s ylis ic con inui ies and discon inui ies be ween
Namban Byôbu
ac oss space
and as such con e s a di ec ionali y and in en o he passage o ime. The i ues o
his heo y a e ha hey make appa en he semio ic connec ions be ween he pic-
o ial elemen s o he sc eens and also, po en ially, he ma e ial elemen s - he pape ,
wood, nails which mus also hold oge he , i he sc een is o be ecognized as such.
Howe e , he subo dina ion o ma e ials o he pic o ial elemen s o he sc eens as
pa o hei en- isioning ac oss di e en loca ions in ime, manu ac u es lines o
connec ing ele ance ha a e s a ic and no dynamic. Fo i is he low o ma e ials,
hei mo emen s wi hin he composi e elemen s o he sc een h ough he ac ion o
ime as an o ganic p ocess and h ough he ac ion o human agen s as he sc een is
olded and un olded, which a e obscu ed by he a endan isualism o hei exhib-
i ed en i onmen s. In his isual sense, whe e lines o connec edness a e p ecipi a es
o mo emen and no lows o mo emen , ma e ial cul u e canno be unequi ocally
concei ed o as an index o he ope a ion o s a egic and economic ne wo ks and
as a de i a i e o ela ionships o mula ed h ough s ylis ic con inui ies and discon-
inui ies. I is by hinking in e ms o he low o ma e ials and ecognising in he
ac i i ies o con empo a y conse a o s, which a e led no only by sigh bu also by
he senses o ouch and e en hea ing, ha he means by which hese mo emen s
c ea e deposi s and lea e esidues o hei pe o ma i e p esence o e insigh s in o
he ways in which he sc eens we e o iginally made o be used and made o be seen.
Recognising how he ex a- isual quali ies o mobile objec s like he
Namban Byôbu
may be s illed in he condi ions o hei museum display, which ac s as a cons ain
upon he low o he ma e ials, can help us o unde s and how ce ain kinds o alue
a e a ached o hem.
S udies o Japanese ma e ial cul u e ha e ocused on iden i ying he alue ha is
a ached o objec s in he p ocess o hei e-p esen a ion as cul u al he i age
(Daniels 1999), in o de o c i ique he in en ion o and nos algia o adi ion
(Ashkenazi and Clamme 2000, Vlas os 1998). These essen ially decons uc i e
app oaches a e mo i a ed by a sense ha he scopic egimes o mode ni y (Jay 1995)
and he ‘e hnoscapes’ (Appadu ai 1996) o globalisa ion de ine in isual e ms and
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
130 REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011

spa ial limi s he his o ical meanings ha a e p oduced h ough he public and ins i-
u ional uses o objec s such as he
Namban byôbu
.
Such app oaches a e c i ical eac ions o oman ic, conse a i e in e p e a ions o
Japanese a as he i age ha also use isual means o iden i y aes he ic gen es and
s yles; such as he
Kanô
school om which he
Namban byôbyu
eme ged o e en-
ually become o icially designa ed and p o ec ed na ional-cul u al easu es. The his-
o ical and cul u al in eg i y o hese a wo ks depends on he expe ision o a
his o ical connoisseu ship and is he e o e unde mined by he isual and ex a- isual
p ac ices associa ed wi h he conse a ion as well as he ep oduc ion and e-c ea ion
o hese sc eens in local en i ons oday. In his sense, his pape add esses he
deba e in isual and he i age s udies (Lowen hal 1985, Elkins 2002) abou he uni-
e salising claims made abou a wo ks by he discipline o a his o y, he he i age
indus y, and na ional and in e na ional ins i u ions on he one hand and he con-
cep s and p ac ices ela ed o he physical p esence o a wo ks as objec s ha exis
in di e se social con ex s on he o he .
Ques ions abou he isual p ope ies and ma e iali y o a wo ks as o ms o he -
i age a e pa icula ly signi ican in Japan which was ac i e in he c ea ion (2001) o
a uni e sal e alua ion o he i age o UNESCO as an ‘in angible cul u al p ope y’.
The con e gence in he UNESCO p oclama ion o local p ac ices wi h a gene alising
he o ic abou he i age has c ea ed a new egime o he alua ion o a and cul u e,
wha Michael He z eld has called a ‘Global Hie a chy o Value’ (2005). I ha e a gued
elsewhe e (Cox 2006, 2009) ha his hie a chy can be app oached h ough ques ions
o isuali y, asking wha modes o seeing a e ac i e in he hie a chy and how peo-
ple in ol ed in p esen ing he i age en- ision i s alue. As such, and in ela ion o his
case, I ollow Ronald Toby’s in e p e a ion (1998) o
Namban
a as a subjec a he
han a s yle, o insc ibing geog aphically dis an o eigne s wi hin domes ic cul u al
spaces so as o imagine and image a new an h opology o and o Japan.
The mode o assimila i e, e lec i e ision which eme ges om his in e p e a ion
o
Namban
a enables us o e hink and e o mula e how he he i age alue o
byôbu
is made h ough a cons an p ocess o combining and ecombining i s isual,
ma e ial and pe o ma i e elemen s in museum displays. This is ably demons a ed
in he Po uguese con ex by Peixo o’s analysis (2006) o di e en exhibi ion s a e-
gies o showing
Namban Byôbu
in loca ions wi hin and a ound Lisbon. This decon-
s uc ion o he p eceden s and in luences on he design o he exhibi ion o wo
amous sc eens, p esen ly displayed in Lisbon’s ‘Museum o Ancien A ’ (
Museu
Nacional de A e An iga
), e eals he complex in e sec ions o cu a o ial in e en-
ions, a chi ec u al p oposi ions, spa ial limi a ions and cul u al de e ence o he
sc een’s nominal ‘Japanese’ o igins. The Museum o Ancien A ’s exhibi ion o he
sc eens exis s in a space o he museum ha is o ganized as a ne wo k o ooms and
co ido s ull o objec s dis inguishable by he geog aphy o hei o igins and hei
o mally de ined aes he ic o unc ional a ini ies. Bo h o hese pa adigms – geo-
g aphic and aes he ic - wo k oge he in making isible a na ional na a i e o Po -
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
131
REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
uguese disco e ies and explo a ions, Ca holic missiona y wo k and se lemen s in
Asia, as a and as powe .
An in e es ing example o his kind o isually led na a i e s a egy can also be ound
in a museum on he o he side o he wo ld in he ci y o Po land O egon. The pai o
Namban
sc eens on display in he Po land A Museum is in a oom which geog aph-
ically dis inguishes objec s o ‘Japan’ om hose in adjoining ooms belonging o
Ko ea and China. Howe e , like mos o he 4000 o so i ems in he Asian collec ion,
hese sc eens we e o iginally gi ed by weal hy amilies and indi iduals whose en e-
p eneu ship and philan h opy had helped o build he weal h o he ci y i sel . Thei
names a e lis ed on a plaque loca ed p ominen ly jus o one side o he i s en ance
o he exhibi ion space o he Asian collec ion, a p ac ice which is in keeping wi h he
philosophy o making a public acknowledgemen o he o igins o gi s in US muse-
ums. The plaque di ides in o six ca ego ies he kinds o gi ing which ha e cons i u ed
he galle y space and i s collec ion as i now appea s o he isi o . In descending o de ,
wi h ype ace ha ge s smalle wi h each lis ing, hese a e: ‘bene ac o s’, ‘pa ons’,
‘sponso s’, ‘dono s’, ‘con ibu o s’ and ‘suppo e s’. The ela ionships be ween hese
ca ego ies a e complex, de ined no simply by he mone a y alue o he gi , bu also
by he o m o he gi and he ype o o ganiza ion making i . The e o e we ha e mixed
oge he : indi iduals and amilies, Japanese banks, glass manu ac u e s and com-
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
132 REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
3An ex ended e sion o his a gumen can be
ound in Cox 2006.
FIG. 2 - The opening iew om he en ance o he
Asian collec ion a he Po land Museum o A .
memo a i e associa ions. Top o he lis in a ca ego y o i s own making and displayed
p ominen ly on he wall abo e he cases housing he
Namban
sc eens is he name o
he amily who ga e he sc eens o he museum and whose iden i y is now con e ed
on his i s oom o he Asian collec ion: ‘Schni ze Family Galle y’. (FIG. 2) These am-
ilies and o ganisa ions cons i u e ano he , addi ional ne wo k o connec ions and sig-
ni icances o he
Namban
sc eens, whe ein he p ecipi a es o he mo emen s o he
objec s a e ma e ialis as well as ma e ial and a na a i e eme ges o he p es ige alue
o philan h opy. I is a na a i e communica ed h ough he ex ual isibili y o names
in he galle y, ha speaks o he No h Ame ican con ex o he display o he objec s
and mo e speci ically, i somewha cynically, o O egon’s s a e ax laws which allow i s
high le el o income ax o be o se h ough dona ions o museum ins i u ions.
To compa e geog aphically dis an , discu si ely dis inc bu in e ms o exhibi ion
design, isually simila examples such as hese in Lisbon and Po land is o e eal he
ways in which a pa icula a o m om Japan may be used o ell di e en s o ies
in e na ionally, aising ques ions abou how i is p esen ed o communica e he
alue o local and na ional cul u al he i age in Japan. My a gumen he e is ha ou
unde s anding o he na ional-cul u al alue held o eside in he aes he ic s yle and
his o ical con ex o hese sc eens in Japan, may be ex ended h ough a conside a-
ion o he pain ings physical o m, ep oduced in he local public spaces o he si es
whe e he encoun e s i s ook place3and as hey a e conse ed and epai ed. The
ma e ial p esence o hese sc eens is an ac i e wi ness o he his o ical iden i y and
cul u al he i age o hese si es h ough he kinds o ision hey engende ; o hey
a e ins umen al o he spec acle o annual his o ic pa ades (FIG. 3) and o he gaze
o ou is s looking o sou eni s o hei isi s. The e is a link be ween he modes o
seeing which a e in insic o hese pain ings when app oached as pic o ial ep esen-
a ions o a na ional his o y o cul u al con ac and he di e en o ms o con em-
po a y spec a o ship which become e iden when we conside hei local u ili y in
pe o mances o his o ical iden i y. This shows ha he he i age alue o a in Japan
esides no only in he iden i ica ion o endu ing aes he ic alues bu also in he
ma e ial quali ies and social ajec o ies o hese objec s as hey a e subjec ed o di -
e en senso ial p ac ices: o commodi isa ion, ep oduc ion, and e-c ea ion in local
pe o mances and conse a ion in specialis wo kshops .
To acknowledge hese p ac ices as pa o he e alua ion o a -wo ks is o ecognize
ha as James Elkins has a gued, he e is no such hing as ‘jus looking’ (1999) and ha
when we look a a , pa icula ly in a museum con ex , he e a e many kinds o look-
ing going on. We migh , ollowing he wo k in he an h opology o he senses, go u -
he and ecognise ha o he senses a e engaged synes he ically alongside looking.
This is he posi ion aken by Jane B odsky (2002) who p oposes ha a mul i-senso y
“whole body” expe ience is engaged in bo h he making and he iewing o a wo ks
and ha his is a pe cep ual ela ionship wi h a wo k o a no eadily a ailable o he
obse e because i has been g ound ou by he pa icula senso y en i onmen o he
museum and he ocula -cen ic epis emologies o a his o y.
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
FIG. 3 – The annual
Namban
es i al (
ma su i
) pa ade
on Tanegashima island o he coas o Kyushu.
133
REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
My p oposi ion in his pape has been ha hese ins i u ional and p o essional
modes o obse a ion implica e he senses in dis inc ela ionships o each o he and
may include a kind o acous ic isuali y. This is a way o seeing ha is ci cumsc ibed
by he sounds o he ins i u ion and also by he ‘au ali y’ o he a wo k i sel . I am
e e ing o sound in wo ways he e: in ela ion o ision and in ela ion o he pic-
o ial image. In he i s sense I mean ha he con ol o sound in an a museum se -
ing may be unde s ood as a necessa y aspec o he iewing condi ions o a wo k
so ha i s mime ic alue as a o mal equi alence in composi ion and ma e ial s uc-
u e o he objec i ep esen s can be app ecia ed.
In he second sense, I mean o ecognize he subjec i i y o he senso y obse e who
may expe ience he wo k no only in i s museum loca ion bu pe haps in he e y
spaces ha he wo k ep esen s. Then isual likenesses be ween pic o ial ep esen-
a ion and o iginal loca ion may be pe cei ed and made meaning ul h ough a di -
e en a ay o sense and sound, as pa o he p esence o a li ed en i onmen . The
ecogni ion o he subjec i e obse e may hen help us o app ecia e he senso y
and in his case au al elemen s in a wo k ha a e no simply dependen on a mime ic
unde s anding o i s ep esen a ional alue. I is an app oach ha mo es us beyond
modes o in e p e ing a wo ks exclusi ely as ep esen a ions o be seen and ead
like linguis ic signs and add esses he c ucial ques ion o depic ion: ha is do pic-
u es cause us o see hings hey ep esen because hey a e likenesses o hem o
do we call hem likenesses because hey cause us o see hem ?
I ha e a gued elsewhe e (Cox 2008) ha he causali y o agency o
Namban
sc eens
ha exp esses he ela ionship be ween hei o mal con en and he spaces hey
depic is played ou in impo an ways isually, h ough he pic o ialisa ion o sound.
He e I wan o p opose ha once we app oach he sc eens as ma e ial objec s hey
may also be conside ed as de ices o lis ening wi h and o lis ening o. As i ems o
u ni u e, he sc eens we e used o di ide up he li ing space o he homes o hei
usually weal hy me chan owne s and o ac as o namen al backd ops o he hos
on he occasion o mee ing impo an gues s. The g andeu and in imacy hese
sc eens len o he ce emonious exchanges and con e sa ions ha ensued, means
ha we may ega d hem also as a kind o lis ening de ice changing he deli e y and
enhancing he impo ance o wha was said. As many o hei o iginal owne s we e
con e e s o Ca holicism and i s con essional p ac ices, i may no be oo much a
leap o he imagina ion o suppose ha he enclosed en i onmen ha he sc eens
c ea ed had added signi icance as an audi o y echnology.
We can go a s ep u he han his hough in audi o y e ms and lis en o he dis inc-
i e sounds o he physical subs a e o he sc eens. The
Hyôsô-shi
, who a e he
c a smen esponsible o moun ing he pain ed sc eens on o hei ames and he e-
a e conse ing hei condi ion, speak in audi o y e ms o he di e ences in good and
bad echnique. Take he skill used o meld he laye s o he sc een oge he . A (
hinoki
)
pine b ush is used o s ike down (
adaku
) on o he sc een’s su ace and i mus be
he edge o he cu e o he b ush ha makes con ac and wi h a hea y enough ouch
OBJECTS THAT MOVE: JAPANESE
NAMBAN
SCREENS IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
134 REVISTA DE HISTÓRIA DA ARTE Nº8 - 2011
FIG. 4 – The
Hyôsô-shi
, M Yamamo o demons a ing
he co ec b ushing ac ion needed o pu mois u e
back in o a sc een.