(Explanation of the hanging scroll design) "hunting hawk"

Traditionally, in Korea and Japan, hawk paintings were also believed to serve as talismans against disasters, known as "Sansai Fuseki." The three disasters, caused by fire, water, and wind, were warded off by hanging these talismans on gateposts or walls during the New Year.

These talismans were woodblock prints depicting a hawk with three heads grasping a tiger, accompanied by the characters for "Extinction of the Three Disasters." Because hawks swoop down from the sky to seize animals on the ground, in Korea, they were considered animals that could pick up and carry away the three disasters. Instead of a hawk with three heads, sometimes three hawks were depicted.

In fact, hawks are very timid and difficult to tame. The history of depicting birds of prey used for hunting, like hawks, is long, with many paintings showing hawks perched on a roost. Keeping birds of prey requires a large garden and specialized keepers, making them a symbol of wealth and loved among the nobility.