The right screen of The Chinese Lions stands as the greatest work of Kano Eitoku (1543–1590), a master painter favored by the sixteenth-century warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The panels feature two imposing Chinese-style lions, rendered in bold brushwork against a gold-leaf background. The work distills the aesthetic tastes of the warrior class of the time and embodies the splendor of Momoyama-period (1568–1615) culture. This screen was originally handed down through the Mori family of the Choshu domain, based in Hagi, in today's Yamaguchi prefecture.
The left screen was painted by Kano Tsunenobu (1636–1713), Eitoku's great-grandson. Compared to Eitoku's work, the depictions look more charming, but Tsunenobu's efforts to catch up with his great-grandfather Eitoku are evident. For example, he tried to add a sense of dynamism to the lion's pose and create a sense of spatial depth with the composition of waterfalls and waves.
Mori Motonori (1839–1896), the former lord of the Choshu domain presented the pair of screens to the Imperial Household in 1888, and they were designated a National Treasure in 2021.