Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615) / c. 1600
Arrival of the "Southern Barbarians"
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Arrival of the "Southern Barbarians" as painting (Japan, Momoyama period (1573–1615) · c. 1600).
Europeans were called "Southern Barbarians" because their ships arrived in Japan from the south.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper.
The museum's collection notes: This screen and its corresponding screen show Portuguese merchants arriving in Japan, having crossed the oceans in their large ship with a multinational crew. The Portuguese were known in Japan as the “Southern Barbarians” because they arrived from the south and their customs and manners were unfamiliar to the Japanese, who had not encountered anyone from Europe until their first appearance in 1543. In 1639, the Portuguese were forced out of Japan, mainly owing to internal difficulties caused by their Catholic missionaries, but they were a major conduit for both objects and ideas from Europe for nearly 100 years.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtArrival of the "Southern Barbarians"Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.