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Introduction This Exhibition Celebrates the Spectacular Artistic Tradition Introduction This exhibition celebrates the spectacular artistic tradition inspired by The Tale of Genji, a monument of world literature created in the early eleventh century, and traces the evolution and reception of its imagery through the following ten centuries. The author, the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, centered her narrative on the “radiant Genji” (hikaru Genji), the son of an emperor who is demoted to commoner status and is therefore disqualified from ever ascending the throne. With an insatiable desire to recover his lost standing, Genji seeks out countless amorous encounters with women who might help him revive his imperial lineage. Readers have long reveled in the amusing accounts of Genji’s romantic liaisons and in the dazzling descriptions of the courtly splendor of the Heian period (794–1185). The tale has been equally appreciated, however, as social and political commentary, aesthetic theory, Buddhist philosophy, a behavioral guide, and a source of insight into human nature. Offering much more than romance, The Tale of Genji proved meaningful not only for men and women of the aristocracy but also for Buddhist adherents and institutions, military leaders and their families, and merchants and townspeople. The galleries that follow present the full spectrum of Genji-related works of art created for diverse patrons by the most accomplished Japanese artists of the past millennium. The exhibition also sheds new light on the tale’s author and her female characters, and on the women readers, artists, calligraphers, and commentators who played a crucial role in ensuring the continued relevance of this classic text. The manuscripts, paintings, calligraphy, and decorative arts on display demonstrate sophisticated and surprising interpretations of the story that promise to enrich our understanding of Murasaki’s tale today. The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Japan Foundation, with the cooperation of the Tokyo National Museum and Ishiyamadera Temple. [Japan 2019 logo] It is made possible by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Fund, 2015; the Estate of Brooke Astor; the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; and Ann M. Spruill and Daniel H. Cantwell. text panels The Tale at Hand: Calligraphy and Genji This gallery conveys what it was like to hold The Tale of Genji in one’s hands and how the text itself— comprising 54 chapters and containing 795 waka poems—came to be regarded as an aesthetic object. Through the centuries, illuminated manuscript versions of the tale in handscroll, booklet, and album formats were cherished for both their meticulous paintings and their elegant transcriptions of the texts, especially the poetry, by famous calligraphers of every era. Indeed, calligraphy was considered one of the supreme arts in premodern East Asia, and every educated person was expected to write fluently with a flexible-tip brush. The appearance of one’s handwriting was a sign of good upbringing and aesthetic refinement. During the Heian period (794–1185), courtly calligraphic styles emerged for both kanji, or Chinese characters, and the distinctive Japanese form of phonetic writing called kana, or onna-de, the “women’s hand.” Kana calligraphy of the Heian court is typified by graceful and smoothly flowing strands of Japanese characters. The Tale of Genji was written in kana calligraphy, since it belonged to the genre of fiction called monogatari (literally, “speaking of things”), rooted in an oral storytelling tradition and firmly associated with women’s writing. gallery 224 Ishiyamadera Temple and Veneration of Murasaki Shikibu A beautiful legend describes how the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji during a visit to Ishiyamadera, a Buddhist temple southeast of Kyoto, where she was inspired by the glittering reflection of the full moon on Lake Biwa and the divine powers of the bodhisattva Kannon. Paintings of the author by artists of virtually every school have reimagined this pivotal moment in the tale’s genesis. The mountainside temple remains a popular Buddhist pilgrimage site to this day. By the fourteenth century, the Main Hall of the temple featured a so-called Genji Room, shown in the above picture. The tale’s relationship to Buddhism appears in its narrative content but also in rituals intended to sanctify the tale, prayers for Murasaki Shikibu’s salvation, and even the worship of her as a manifestation of Kannon. The altar at the center of this gallery is adorned with ceremonial objects borrowed from Ishiyamadera, surrounded by precious works of art from the temple’s storeroom. caption: The Genji Room with its pointed-arch window (katōmado) Historical Provinces and Places in The Tale of Genji All the episodes in Genji are set in places that actually existed in and around the capital, formerly called Heian- kyō or Miyako (“the Capital”) and now known as Kyoto. Most of the place names continue to be used to this day. caption: Map by Anandaroop Roy, based on Royall Tyler, trans., The Tale of Genji (2001), p. 1121 Envisioning the Story: The Narrative Art of Genji Artists began illustrating The Tale of Genji soon after it was written by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century. To represent the complex, lengthy tale and its numerous waka poems, many artists and their patrons took a modular approach, creating sets of Genji paintings that included one image and one text as emblematic of each of the tale’s fifty-four chapters. An iconography was soon established that allowed viewers to recognize important scenes. These include the protagonist Genji’s first glimpse of the character Murasaki, who becomes his lifelong companion, or Genji’s stunning dance performance with his brother-in-law and rival, Tō no Chūjō, beneath the autumn leaves, or, near the end of the tale, the young woman Ukifune crossing the Uji River by boat with her lover, Prince Niou, Genji’s grandson. Despite this common visual language, however, Genji paintings have demonstrated tremendous variety over the past millennium, delighting viewers with unexpected variations that reflect the range of artistic visions, functions, and changes in how the tale has been read during different eras. Central Characters of The Tale of Genji Genji: the protagonist, son of the Kiritsubo Emperor Kokiden: consort of the Kiritsubo Emperor as well as Genji’s main political rival Fujitsubo: consort of the Kiritsubo Emperor and mother of Emperor Reizei, born of an affair with Genji Aoi: Genji’s first wife, dies after giving birth to Genji’s son Yūgiri Yūgao: former lover of Genji’s rival, Tō no Chūjō, dies while spending the night with Genji Lady Rokujō: Genji’s older lover, whose jealous spirit appears to kill Yūgao and Aoi, and mother of Akikonomu (Umetsubo Empress) Suetsumuhana (Safflower Princess): famous for her red nose and old-fashioned ways Lady Murasaki: Genji’s lifelong companion, raised by Genji to be his ideal wife Akashi Lady: woman Genji meets while in exile and mother of future Akashi Empress Characters of the Next Generation Kashiwagi: son of Tō no Chūjō, secretly fathers Kaoru with Genji’s wife the Third Princess Kaoru: son of Kashiwagi, raised as Genji’s son, famous for his scent Prince Niou: Genji’s grandson, son of the Akashi Empress, known for his perfumed aroma The Uji Princesses: two sisters raised in Uji, pursued by Kaoru and Prince Niou Ukifune: half-sister of the Uji Princesses, entangled in a love triangle with Kaoru and Prince Niou A Reconstruction of Genji’s Rokujō Estate In Chapter 21 of the tale, Genji constructs the Rokujō estate, a kind of ersatz imperial court, where he installs the women most important to him in four separate quadrants outfitted with spectacular gardens and artificial lakes. The architecture and seasonal landscapes of Rokujō function in rich symbolic ways in the narrative while also creating a backdrop for depictions of elegant courtly activities that came to epitomize Genji’s refinement and prosperity. Scenes from chapters set at Rokujō at the height of Genji’s glory, therefore, figure prominently in bridal trousseaux and works of art made for auspicious occasions. caption: Model of Genji’s Rokujō estate. The Tale of Genji Museum, Uji City, Japan Shinden Architecture and Interior Furnishings This image shows the interior layout of a shinden, the main building of an aristocratic residence. The central core (moya) is surrounded by aisles (hisashi) and by outer aisles called magobisashi (literally, “grandchild aisles”). These buildings, which employ post and lintel construction with non-load-bearing walls, had open floor plans that used sliding doors, bamboo blinds, curtains, furnishings, and folding screens (byōbu) or partitioning screens (tsuitate shōji) to divide space and create privacy. People sat on wooden floors on round mats made of straw or sedge (enza) or on woven straw floor coverings (tatami). The Met’s Shoin Room, based on early seventeenth-century architectural styles, has been outfitted with bamboo blinds (misu) and a portable curtain on a freestanding frame (kichō), which prevented royal women from being viewed directly by men or passersby. It was made in present-day Kyoto following traditional production techniques. A courtier’s costume is also on view. When painting scenes from the tale, artists sometimes attempted to capture the archaic settings and costumes of the Heian court, but in most cases, they also used Edo- period garments and architectural elements in their compositions, resulting in anachronistic settings. Acknowledgments: Bamboo blinds (misu): Ōkubo Buemon and Ōkubo Kaori and the team of craftsmen at the Misubu Company, Kyoto; portable curtain (kichō): Okayama Keiji and his workshop at the Kitaori fabric- weaving company, Kyoto caption: Detail from A Miscellany of Essential Household Accessories (Ruijū zōyōshō), Scroll 2. Edo period (1615– 1868). Handscroll; ink and color on paper. Tokyo National Museum Genji Motifs The Tale of Genji shaped the way members of elite classes engaged with the world and conducted their lives.
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