Scenes from the Tale of Genji

The port cities of colonial Spanish America were thriving centers of trade in international luxury goods. Japanese screens were recorded in New Spain by 1614, when Edo period examples decorated with golden clouds were introduced as diplomatic gifts. These biombos—whose name is derived from byobu, the Japanese word for folding screen—found immediate favor with the viceroyalty’s prosperous elite, inspiring Mexican variations throughout the colonial period (see nearby example).