These screens are outstanding examples of early 17th century narrative painting and are a rare example of illustrated No drama. The story is from the No play Takebun which was popular during the Muromachi period. Many episodes of the tale are arranged sequentially across both screens and unfold dramatically from right to left. Gold clouds unify the composition while separating the different episodes of the story. The ground plane is tilted up at a steep angle, giving the viewer an all-encompassing "bird's-eye view" that was favored by Japanese artists.

The story begins at the lower right corner of the right screen where a large house on the seashore is being torched by a band of marauding thieves led by pirate Matsuura. Takebun, a retainer of Prince Takayoshi, who is dressed in green and is wearing a black cap, stands at the front gate wielding a sword. He has cut down at least three of the attackers. Others have turned and are fleeing. Inside we see a beautiful woman in the many-layered robes of a princess; she is the lover of Prince Takayoshi and is presently in the care of Takebun. In the next epsiode we see the Princess and Takebun run to the shore to hail a boat that will take them to safety. After placing the Princess aboard, Takebun returns to the burning house to retrieve her belongings. He realizes as he regains the beach that he has unwittingly handed the princecess over to Matsuura and his pirates. The final scene on the left of the right hand screen depicts Takebun giving chase in a small one-man skiff he has just commandeered. Unable to catch up he commits suicide in order to transform himself into a sea-dragon and in this form creates a storm with which to rescue the kidnapped Princess.

This storm is depicted on the right of the left-hand screen. It allows the artist to show off his virtuoso skill at depicting white caps and waves; a swirling whirlpool marks the center of the composition. The pirates aboard the boat are meanwhile desperately seasick and throw the Princess overboard in order to appease the sea dragon and calm the churning waves. Floating in the water are parts of several suits of pirate armor and the red outer robe of the Princess. At the bottom of the fourth panel from the right the Princess reappears in a small skiff piloted by a fisherman who has rescued her. He takes her to his humble village where she is shown being fed and cared for by the villagers. The fisherman who rescued her kneels outside her hut. In the happy finale, Takebun is deified as a dragon god and Prince Takayoshi sends his retainers, seen on the far left, to collect the Princess.