[3][1][2] The ink-on-paper work depicts a view of Japanese pine trees in the mist, with parts of the trees visible and parts obscured, illustrating the Zen Buddhist concept of ma (間) and evoking the Japanese wabi (侘) aesthetic of rustic simplicity.
They are said to be the first paintings of their scale to depict only trees as subject matter, although a white shape to the upper right of the left panel might suggest a background mountain peak.
[1] The work is a development of suibokuga (水墨画, ink-wash paintings) made with Chinese ink (墨, sumi), using dark and light shades on a silk or paper medium.
It combines naturalistic Chinese ideas of ink painting by Muqi Fachang (Chinese: 牧溪法常; pinyin: Mu-ch'i Fa-ch'ang) with themes from the Japanese yamato-e (大和絵) landscape tradition, influenced by the "splashed ink" (溌墨, hatsuboku) works of Sesshū Tōyō.
The painting makes use of the intended foldings of the screen in use to create perspective, with branches directed towards or away from the viewer.