Carpenter Planing a Rainbow Beam

A bearded carpenter with his hair in a topknot leans into a hand plane, pushing it along a thick beam striped in every colour of the rainbow. Curled shavings spill off the end in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet ribbons that trail across the tatami floor. Behind him a wall rack holds saws, chisels and mallets with bright handles, and two paper lanterns painted with a peony and a tiger glow overhead. Hanging scrolls of plum blossom and calligraphy line the walls beside a tall paper-screen window. Stacks of coloured planks lean everywhere, with paint pots, potted plants, a blue-and-white vase and rolled bundles on low shelves. His indigo robe is patterned with gold swirls. The rainbow beam cuts a bold diagonal through the calm room, and its stripes keep every scattered shaving and plank easy to match to its colour.