Kano Masanobu (c. 1434-1530), the founder of the Kano school, was a member of a minor samurai family. Both he and his father served as painters to the Ashikaga shogun Yoshimasa (1436-1490). The rise of the Kano school, however, is generally attributed to the artistic and organizational genius of Masanobu's grandson Motonobu (1476-1559), one of the most influential painters in 16th-century Japan. Motonobu developed a distinctive style of large-scale painting well suited to the increasing demand for large interior decoration schemes, and created a workshop system that could meet the demands of a growing, wealthy clientele. This combination was continued by Motonobu's son Eitoku (1543-1590), and creative variations and reinterpretations of compositional types and motifs invented by these two masters remained the hallmark of the Kano school for centuries.

This pair of screens, Pheasants under Cherry and Willow Trees and Irises and Mist, is attributed to the artist Kano Ryokei (d. 1645). The tree trunks with exposed roots in the foreground of the righthand screen continue a typical Kano compositional device. The tripartite composition, the sharply defined forms, and the interest in precise details found in these screens illustrate the traditional style of the Kano school in the first half of the 17th century. The use of a gold background, in which the surface of the screen is covered by paper-thin sheets of gold foil, can be traced back to the 14th century in Japan. Although screens covered in this fashion were at first not painted, by the late 16th century painted screens with gold backgrounds had become one of the most popular forms of Japanese painting, as they were particularly effective for decorating the heavy stone castles popular in Japan at that time, after firearms were introduced by the Portuguese.

These screens are believed to have once been part of the interior decoration of a room in the Nishihonganji, a prominent temple in Kyoto. Placed together, these two screens illustrate the transition from spring (the buddingcherry, willow, and pheasants) to summer (the blooming irises). The cherry, willow, pheasants, and irises are motifs that play an important role in Japanese literature and are often depicted in yamato-e, 'Japanese picture,' paintings. The theme ofirises is often associated with the 17th- and 18th-century Rinpa school of painting, and the use of this theme in the work of a Kano artist may represent the influence of this tradition on Kano artists working in Kyoto. Both Kano Ryokei and his teacher Kano Mitsunobu (c. 1565-1608) worked in Kyoto, while another branch of the Kano school was based in Edo (present-day Tokyo). The differences between the art of the Edo and Kyoto branches reflect the differing demands of their respective patrons.

Ryokei worked for several temples in Kyoto and was the official painter for the Nishihonganji. Members of the powerful Otani family served as the abbots at this temple. The designs of half-raised bamboo blinds painted on the backs of these screens were used by the Otani to indicate possession.