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Lot Essay
Little was known about Soga Soyo in the limited records on the exceptional but diminished artist. Active until the mid-sixteenth century, Soyo favours a solitary life and keens on depicting hawks with power and tension constituted by a refined sensitivity to detail.
The eighth-century Chronicles of Japan (Nihon shoki) states that the practice of hawking was introduced in the fourth century, after which it became an important seasonal activity at court. Since the Muromachi period (1392-1573), hawking was dominated by the warrior elite, who saw the bird of prey as a symbol of their own bravery and might. Imagery of hawks in their wild habitat, in cages or tethered to stands is prevalent on hanging scrolls, screens and sliding doors commissioned by the samurai elite.
The eighth-century Chronicles of Japan (Nihon shoki) states that the practice of hawking was introduced in the fourth century, after which it became an important seasonal activity at court. Since the Muromachi period (1392-1573), hawking was dominated by the warrior elite, who saw the bird of prey as a symbol of their own bravery and might. Imagery of hawks in their wild habitat, in cages or tethered to stands is prevalent on hanging scrolls, screens and sliding doors commissioned by the samurai elite.