Sea Eagle amidst the Three Friends of Winter

From the Muromachi period (1333–1573) to the Edo period (1603–1868), birds of prey were depicted on screens as symbolic manifestations of the military government that had risen to power over this time span. Here, poised between stasis and flight, an eagle surveys its territory. Surrounding the eagle are pine, bamboo, and a budding plum tree—plants associated with chastity, moral uprightness, and purity respectively. Collectively they are known as the “Three Friends of Winter, ” a compound of the Chinese characters used to write the plants’ names.