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.
The Edo period (1615–1868) is considered the golden age for lacquers, textiles, and metalwork with Genji decoration, reflecting the important role the tale played in the bridal trousseaux of daimyo weddings and the auspicious meanings associated with its scenes. Several lacquer items from wedding sets are featured in this exhibition, including an exquisite palanquin made for the shogun’s wife.
Genji motifs appeared on garments for aristocrats, high-ranking samurai ladies, and wealthy merchant-class women. The tale inspired Noh plays, and costumes for these were produced with related designs. Incense utensils and games as well as musical instruments were also associated with the story, sparking the creation of amusements such as shell-matching and card games based on the fifty-four chapters. A number of these works of art portray scenes set at Genji’s spectacular Rokujō estate, where he housed the various important women in his life in different seasonal quadrants to live in harmony amid magnificent gardens (see image on the opposite wall). Although Murasaki’s complex tale makes it clear that Rokujō does not always resemble paradise, these objects created for auspicious occasions presented Genji’s realm as an idyllic arcadia.
Screen Paintings on a Grand Scale
These galleries present large-format screen paintings depicting scenes from The Tale of Genji that demonstrate how chambers in the residences of wealthy patrons could be transformed into Genji rooms. Such works offered panoramic vistas by portraying only one or two scenes across all twelve panels of a folding screen to create an immersive environment of Genji imagery. Patrons selected the scenes with great care, choosing images with narrative content that spoke to their contemporary concerns. This holds true for views of domestic harmony commissioned for bridal trousseaux and also for scenes of Genji in exile on the Suma coast, requested by men with experiences of political exile in their own pasts. These monumental screens thus function both as aesthetic objects that illustrate beloved moments from the Heian tale and as records of historical figures who saw their lives mirrored in the world of Genji.
Monochrome Genji Paintings
While Genji paintings are rightly associated with bright colors and glittering gold, paintings in monochrome ink represent some of the most appealing works in the history of Genji illustrations. Narrative paintings in the ink- line (hakubyō) mode eschew color in favor of linear compositions that spotlight the rhythmic quality of the line as it thins and thickens, punctuated by patches of dark ink, and that use the paper’s unpainted white ground as a positive element of the composition. This mode of representation was associated early on with skilled amateur artists and salons for women. Numerous Genji paintings survive from the sixteenth century on small scrolls that fit comfortably in the hand. Likely executed by and for women, they often represent unique scenes and motifs that offer insights into how communities of medieval female readers understood and shared the tale— sometimes by reading the text aloud.
A highly crafted form of Japanese ink-line drawing created by professional artists emerged during the early Edo period. So too did an approach that blended the aesthetic sensibility and techniques of Chinese-style painting
(kanga) with those of Japanese-style painting (yamato-e), creatively employing ink wash, gold paint, and pigmentation to develop a new and powerful mode of Genji painting.
Genji Goes Modern
The archaic language in which The Tale of Genji was originally written became increasingly inaccessible to readers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and readers relied on translations into modern
Japanese and Western languages. Yet artists continued to use traditional imagery from the tale as grist for new pictorial interpretations. In the 1880s and early 1890s, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi translated ancient iconography into an ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) style, focusing on a single figure. In the early twentieth century,
Tanaka Shinbi created remarkably faithful copies of both the paintings and text sections of the twelfth-century
Tale of Genji Scrolls, in the process inspiring contemporary artists to look at ancient art through new eyes.
Artists working in the idiom of modern Japanese-style painting, or Nihonga, re-created iconic scenes using a surprising new palette and scale to meet the demands of emerging public forms of display. Genji continued to function as a touchstone in the modern era for artists who combined traditional techniques and subjects with approaches from Western art, while reflecting the new ways the tale was read and politicized in the twentieth century.
Genji in the Floating World
From the seventeenth century onward, visual representations of The Tale of Genji responded to Edo urbanity, emerging printing technologies, and commercial culture to usher in a new era of Genji arts. The first illustrated printed books of the tale appeared in 1650, resulting in an unprecedented level of readership, and a host of popular editions and commentaries soon followed.
The Edo period (1615–1868) was also the age of the Genji parody, and examples of delightful, often humorous ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) that place the novel’s characters in contemporary scenarios abound.
Early ukiyo-e artists such as Hishikawa Moronobu represented the characters of the story as courtesans, and a century later Chōbunsai Eishi began creating even more elaborate representations of court ladies as courtesans of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters. Utagawa Kuniyoshi superimposed images from Kabuki plays onto vignettes from the classic tale. At the end of the Edo period, the popular spoof written by Ryūtei Tanehiko, A Fraudulent
Murasaki’s Rustic Genji (Nise Murasaki inaka Genji, 1829–42), spawned a new genre of popular prints.
『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』 大和和紀作
The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Written and illustrated by Yamato Waki
One of the most remarkable developments of Genji imagery in contemporary times is the emergence of numerous manga versions of the tale. Dreams at Dawn (Asaki yumemishi), a multivolume interpretation by the female artist Yamato Waki, has surpassed the others in artistry and attention to the historical details and literary features of the original. Yamato’s manga translation made the ancient tale accessible to a new generation of readers. The artist uses the visual idiom of girls’ comics (shōjo manga)—such as figures characterized by slender physiques, sharp features, and large eyes—as well as the full range of storytelling strategies of the comic form. In terms of narrative content, shōjo manga emphasize romantic relationships and heightened emotions in stories told from a woman’s perspective.
On display here are a series of original colored manga drawings that Yamato created as the basis for color frontispieces and inserts in the black-and-white manga, mostly made between 1979 and 1993, accompanied by a video showing her artistic process. Consisting of individual character studies, the paintings prompted Yamato to explore the narrative arc, psychology, and motivations of each figure in new ways. In conjunction with the exhibition, a new online English-language version of the manga—originally called The Tale of Genji: Fleeting
Dreams—was released by Kodansha, Ltd., in February 2019, with a revised subtitle, Dreams at Dawn.
Stanchion Label 8.5 x 11 gallery location: 232 case location/etc: slips into a plexi/glass holder
名和晃平作
Kohei Nawa (born 1975)
PixCell-Deer#24
Heisei period (1989–present), 2011
Mixed media; taxidermied deer with artificial crystal glass
Purchase, Acquisitions Fund and Peggy and Richard M. Danziger Gift, 2011 (2011.493)
This taxidermied deer has been completely transformed through the artist’s use of variably sized “PixCell” beads, a term he invented. PixCell combines the idea of a “pixel,” the smallest unit of a digital image, with that of a “cell.” Whether intentionally or unintentionally on the artist’s part, PixCell-Deer#24 resonates with a type of religious painting known as a Kasuga Deer Mandala, which features a deer—the messenger animal of Shinto deities—posed similarly with its head turned to the side, and with a round sacred mirror on its back. In Japanese art, the deer is often depicted as a companion of ancient sages and has auspicious or poetic associations.
captions for chapter books gallery location: 223 case location/etc: Isome Tsuna Chapter Books; case 3
Chapter 1, “The Lady of the Paulownia-Courtyard Chambers” (Kiritsubo)
The coming of age ceremony for Genji (age 12), when his hair will be cut and he will don a courtier’s cap
Chapter 5, “Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)
Genji (age 18) seeks the healing powers of a reclusive ascetic living amid the crags of the Northern Hills
(Kitayama)
Chapter 9, “Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi)
Genji’s official wife, Aoi, is attacked by the wandering spirit of Lady Rokujō
Chapter 17, “A Contest of Illustrations” (E-awase)
Genji and Fujitsubo on one side and Tō no Chūjō on the other present illustrated tales to win Emperor Reizei’s favor
Chapter 19, “A Thin Veil of Clouds” (Usugumo)
The Akashi Lady parts with her daughter the Akashi Princess (age 3), who goes to live with her father, Genji, and Lady Murasaki
Chapter 40, “Rites of the Sacred Law” (Minori)
To prepare for her death, Genji’s lifelong consort, Lady Murasaki (age 43), sponsors a Lotus Sutra dedication ceremony
Chapter 41, “Spirit Summoner” (Maboroshi)
Genji (age 52) spends a year mourning Murasaki’s passing in this chapter that precedes his own death
Chapter 54, “A Floating Bridge in a Dream” (Yume no ukihashi)
Ukifune, living as a nun in Ono, receives a letter from Kaoru delivered by her younger brother
gallery location: 225 case location/etc: 1985.352; case 14
Chapter 1, “The Lady of the Paulownia-Courtyard Chambers” (Kiritsubo)
The Kiritsubo Emperor looks on as Genji (age 12) participates in his coming of age ceremony
Chapter 2, “Broom Cypress” (Hahakigi)
Genji (age 17) invades the sleeping quarters of Utsusemi at the Governor of Kii’s mansion
Chapter 3, “A Molted Cicada Shell” (Utsusemi)
Attempting another tryst, Genji (age 17) peeks through the blinds at Utsusemi, who is playing go with her stepdaughter
Chapter 4, “The Lady of the Evening Faces” (Yūgao)
Genji (age 17) sits with Yūgao (age 19) at her residence before taking her away to a deserted mansion
Chapter 5, “Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)
In the hills north of the capital, Genji (age 18) glimpses the young Murasaki (age 10) for the first time
Chapter 6, “The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana)
After spending the night with Suetsumuhana, known as the Safflower Princess, Genji sees her full appearance, including her red nose, for the first time
Colphon labels gallery location: 228 case location/etc: Case 30
Chapter 35, “Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
Sacred music at the Sumiyoshi Shrine gate
Genji and the Akashi women at the Sumiyoshi Shrine
Akashi Empress
Lady Murasaki
Akashi Lady
Akashi Nun
Nakatsukasa
Akashi Empress’s Nurse
Chapter 28, “An Autumn Tempest” (Nowaki)
Lady Murasaki and Genji at the Rokujō estate
Umetsubo Empress (Akikonomu), behind blinds
Page girls holding cages of bell crickets
Yūgiri
Chapter 29, “An Imperial Excursion” (Miyuki)
A messenger from Genji
Emperor Reizei
Royal falconry expedition at Ōharano
Combined labels for prints
item type: Genji Combined Label For Prints gallery location: 223–232 case location/etc: ROTATION 1
奥村政信画 見立紫式部図
Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764)
Parody of Murasaki Shikibu at Her Desk
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1710
Monochrome woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt
Fund, 1911 (JP682)
What looks like a depiction of an Edo-period courtesan at a writing table is actually a parodic image of The Tale of Genji’s author, Murasaki Shikibu. According to legend, Murasaki secluded herself at Ishiyamadera Temple, where her contemplation of the moon’s reflection on Lake Biwa, as well as divine intervention, inspired her to begin writing the romantic narrative of courtly life. While most imaginary portraits show her in eleventh- century dress, here she appears clad in the fashion of the artist’s own day. The printmaker, painter, and poet
Okumura Masanobu was among the early ukiyo-e artists who depicted famous female writers and their characters in the guise of commoners.
鳥文斎栄之画 「風流やつし源氏 須磨」
Chōbunsai Eishi (1756–1829)
Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1791–92 Left sheet of a triptych of polychrome woodblock ōban prints; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer,
1929 (JP1785)
Two women and a girl play with a kitten. The beach at Suma, with boats sailing in Osaka Bay, is visible beyond the open shōji, the veranda, and a stand of pines. A design of fishnets adorns the kimono of the central figure.
This left-hand sheet from a print triptych recasts the episode of Genji’s exile in Suma with stylish ladies in Edo- period clothing in place of the male companions who accompanied the protagonist in the tale. The artist,
Chōbunsai Eishi, born into a high-ranking samurai family, would have been familiar with such up-to-date fashions worn by Edo’s social elite.
鳥文斎 栄之画 「風流やつし源氏 朝顔」
Chōbunsai Eishi (1756–1829)
Bellflowers (Asagao), from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Asagao)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1789–92
Triptych of polychrome woodblock ōban prints; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund, 1929 (JP1569)
In this “modernization” of Chapter 20, “Bellflowers,” Genji’s unsuccessful pursuit of Princess Asagao is given an Edo-period setting. The palace interior teems with stylish women, and Genji and Asagao are shown exchanging poems; in the tale, they do so only through intermediaries. The figures, tall and slender with refined features, are characteristic of Chōbunsai Eishi’s prints and paintings. As in other prints from this series of triptychs, the colors are limited, in this case to gray-blue, yellow, and a touch of green. In this respect they conform to the technique of beni-girai, or “avoiding red,” fashionable in the late 1700s.
鳥文斎栄之画 「畧六花撰 喜撰法師」 Chōbunsai Eishi (1756–1829)
Matching Shells (Kai-awase), “Kisen Hōshi,” from the series Modern Parodies of the Six Poetic Immortals
(Yatsushi rokkasen: Kisen Hōshi)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1796–98
Polychrome woodblock ōban print; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer,
1929 (JP1786)
This image captures the vogue for half-length portraits of beauties that became a trademark of Chōbunsai
Eishi’s contemporary, Kitagawa Utamaro (ca. 1753–1806). In accordance with the series title, it employs the parodic device by which figures of the past are depicted in contemporary guise, sometimes as a person of lower status or a different gender. Here, the Heian-period monk-poet Kisen Hōshi is represented by a courtesan holding a shell decorated with a painting that recalls Chapter 45 of The Tale of Genji, “The Divine Princess at
Uji Bridge.” In that episode, Kaoru, Genji’s supposed son, visits Princess Ōigimi in Uji.
鳥文斎栄之画 「浮世源氏八景 幻 落雁 薄雲 晴嵐」
Chōbunsai Eishi (1756–1829)
Spirit Summoner; Wild Geese Returning Home (Maboroshi; Rakugan) (right) and A Thin Veil of Clouds;
Clearing Weather (Usugumo; Seiran) (left), from the series Eight Views of The Tale of Genji in the Floating
World (Ukiyo Genji hakkei)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1797–99
Diptych of polychrome woodblock ōban prints; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1921 (JP1222)
In addition to his parodic Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise prints, Eishi created eight prints in diptych format that allude to Genji episodes. Each displays two beauties, with landscapes in insets that reference the scenic
“Eight Views of Ōmi” and correspond to chapters from the tale. In the print representing Chapter 41, “Spirit Summoner,” the encircled geese and autumn grasses evoke a poem by the Akashi Lady. On the left, Chapter 19,
“A Thin Veil of Clouds,” is recalled by the landscape of Awazu, a name that refers either to Genji’s interest in
Akikonomu, or to a poetic exchange between Genji and the Akashi Lady.
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 空蝉 / 曾我五郎時致」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds
Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1845–61
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ronin Gallery, 2018 (2018.893.2)
At night a handsome young warrior slides beneath a tent’s mosquito net to kill the man who murdered his father, but finds no one there. He is Soga Gorō Tokimune, one of two brothers determined to avenge their father’s death. The Soga brothers’ story, a popular theme in Japanese culture, gave rise to Noh, Kabuki, and
Bunraku theater pieces as well as prints by ukiyo-e artists. Here, a parallel is drawn between Gorō’s actions and those of Genji in Chapter 3, “A Molted Cicada Shell,” in which Genji invades Utsusemi’s sleeping chamber but finds that she has vanished and left behind her thin summer robe.
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 夕顔 / 矢間氏の室織江」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘Lady of the Evening Faces’ (Yūgao): Yazama’s Wife Orie (Yazama-shi no shitsu Orie),” from the series
Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1845–46
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ronin Gallery, 2018 (2018.893.3)
This print from a set of sixty intriguingly combines references from The Tale of Genji’s Chapter 4, “The Lady of the Evening Faces,” with a seemingly unrelated scene from Kabuki theater—a culmination of Edo-period experimentation with parodic imagery. What does a streetwalker with a dog on a snowy night have to do with
Genji? The woman is Orie, estranged wife of one of the “Forty-Seven Rōnin” featured in numerous Kabuki and puppet plays. Here she is conflated with the tragic heroine Yūgao, invoked by the yūgao (moonflower) blossom and Genji poem on the scroll above. Like Yūgao, who was killed by an angry spirit, Orie will meet a violent demise before the night is through.
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 若紫 / 少将」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘Little Purple Gromwell’ (Wakamurasaki): Shōshō,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1845–61
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ronin Gallery, 2018 (2018.893.1)
A woman ties her sash as paper fallen from her sleeve blows away in the breeze. Ordinarily, her disheveled appearance and packet of tissue papers would suggest she is a common prostitute. However, she represents
Tegoshi no Shōshō, mistress of Soga Gorō, from the famous story of the Soga brothers’ vendetta. The name
“Wakamurasaki” on the scroll-shaped insert above links the print with Chapter 5 of Genji, asking viewers to conflate this woman with young Murasaki from the tale. The violet-purple colors in Shōshō’s kimono evoke the name “Murasaki,” which means purple, while the airborne papers imitate the flight of Murasaki’s famous escaped pet sparrow, also shown above.
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 須磨 / 玉織姫」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e
Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1845–61
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ronin Gallery, 2018 (2018.893.5)
The woman on a beach, halberd in hand, is Tamaori-hime, wife of Atsumori, a heroic figure from the early fourteenth-century epic narrative Tale of the Heike. The handscroll cartouche above bears the name “Suma,” the title of Chapter 12 of The Tale of Genji. That chapter recounts Genji’s exile to the Suma coast, where he yearns for his life at court and his consort Murasaki. The connection between the Genji chapter and Tamaori is clearly the seaside setting, and it draws a parallel between Tamaori’s grief at her separation from Atsumori and
Murasaki mourning the absence of Genji.
may be in a later rotation
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 浮舟 / おまつ 赤堀水右衛門」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘A Boat Cast Adrift’ (Ukifune): Omatsu and Akabori Mizuemon,” from the series Scenes amid Genji
Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1845–46
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Ronin Gallery, 2018 (2018.893.4)
A battle takes place between the villainous samurai Akabori Mizuemon and the female warrior Omatsu. The source may be a scene from a Kabuki play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1725). At first glance, the only connection with Genji’s Chapter 51 is that they both take place on board a boat, which in Genji contains Ukifune and Niou, headed toward the Isle of Orange Trees. Given Ukifune’s role as a demure, helpless girl in that episode, it is humorous to see a figure in a comparable setting rise up to attack the man in the boat.
may be in a later rotation
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合 玉鬘 / 玉取蜑」
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
“‘A Lovely Garland’ (Tamakazura): Tamatori-ama,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1845–46
Woodblock ōban print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Alan and Barbara Medaugh Gift, 2019 (2019.4)
Kuniyoshi’s dramatic image derives from the medieval tale Taishokkan, “The Great Woven Cap,” which recounts legendary events from the life of the courtier Fujiwara Kamatari (614–669). Here, his humbly born lover, the beautiful diver Tamatori, recovers a precious jewel stolen from Kamatari by the dragon king of the sea. She battles one of the dragon’s minions, a fearsome octopus, clutching the jewel in one hand while brandishing a dagger in the other. The connection to Chapter 22 of Genji is the jewel (tama) in the chapter title,
“Tamakazura,” which is the name of Genji’s beautiful ward.
A late poetry addition, may not be in the exhibition until after the opening
From “Channel Markers” (Miotsukushi),
Genji writes to the Akashi Lady:
みをつくし恋ふるしるしにここまでも めぐりあひけるえにはふかしな
The channel markers show how far love has taken us, and how I’ve given fully of myself since fate brought us together because of our deep karmic ties.
From “The Oak Tree” (Kashiwagi),
Ochiba writes to Yūgiri:
かしは木に葉守の神はまさずとも 人ならすべき宿の木ずゑか
Even though the deity who guards the oak tree (kashiwagi), is no longer with us,
I wonder if callers can take rest upon its lower branches?
—Translations by John T. Carpenter
Deck labels with chats, 2 columns
gallery 224, case 9
伝八十島助左衛門写 源氏講式
Prayer for Genji (Genji kōshiki)
Copied by Yasojima Sukezaemon
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th–18th century
Thread-bound book; ink on five-colored paper with mica-printed designs
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia
(1985.524)
Prayer for Genji cleverly interweaves all fifty-four chapter titles with verses meant to reveal the tale’s inherent
Buddhist meaning. It concludes with the hope that Murasaki Shikibu will escape the cycle of rebirth and that her words will be transformed into hymns of praise for the Buddha. Here, designs of a butterfly and two deer standing amid autumn grasses are printed in shimmering mica on colorful dyed papers.
Gallery 224, case 9
『妙法蓮華経』 「提婆達多品第十二」
“Devadatta,” Chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra (Hoke-kyō, Daibadatta-bon)
Heian period (794–1185), 12th century
Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Seymour Fund, 1965 (65.216.1)
The frontispiece of this scroll of the “Devadatta” chapter of the Lotus Sutra depicts the eight-year-old daughter of the Dragon King emerging from her palace beneath the sea to offer a precious, radiant jewel to the Buddha on Eagle Peak. Famous for achieving instantaneous Buddhahood, the Dragon Girl became an inspiring symbol of female salvation in Murasaki’s day. Allusions to episodes from the Lotus Sutra appear throughout The Tale of
Genji.
gallery 225, case 11
土佐光起筆 紫式部図
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691)
Portrait-Icon of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
Murasaki Shikibu appears poised to begin writing her tale, pausing as if in mid-thought. Her head tilts away from her desk, while her trancelike stare is directed slightly upward, toward the calligraphy sheets in the upper portion of the painting. The inscriptions list the four stages of Tendai Buddhist contemplation (shimon) that
Murasaki was said to have mastered, along with two of her waka (thirty-one-syllable poems) that speak to life’s impermanence (mujōkan).
gallery 223 case 5
住吉物語絵巻 詞書断簡
The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), late 13th century
Calligraphy from handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.19b)
Only a few precious sections of original text that accompanied the illustrations of this handscroll survive. The text related to this example reads: “Then they arrived in the capital and went up to the mansion of Chūjō’s father, who was upset about his son’s secret marriage to an unknown country girl. Nevertheless, he built a special wing of the house for them and there established the newlyweds.”
gallery 225 case 17
伝土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図色紙 「紅葉賀」
Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliage” (Momiji no ga)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Album leaves mounted as a pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, and gold on paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Hofer Collection of the Printed and Graphic
Arts of Asia in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Paine (1973.72.1, .2)
These Genji album leaves were mounted as hanging scrolls. The calligraphic excerpt includes the title of
Chapter 7, but the content concerns a different episode in the tale. In the picture, Genji and Tō no Chūjō perform the “Dance of the Blue Waves,” whereas in the text, Naishi, a lady-in-waiting, exchanges poetry with young Genji. The mismatched leaves might have resulted from the calligrapher and painter working independently.
gallery 226, case 21, rotation 3
土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図色紙 「柏木」 Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“The Oak Tree” (Kashiwagi)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th–early 17th century
Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.31)
This scene from Chapter 36 shows a richly appointed interior in which Tō no Chūjō confers with an ascetic summoned to heal his ailing son, Kashiwagi, lying in the adjacent room. Unbeknownst to them, Kashiwagi’s illness derives from anguish and remorse over his illicit affair with Genji’s wife, the Third Princess. This delicate and detailed image, with its paintings within the painting, bears all the hallmarks of works by Tosa
Mitsuyoshi.
gallery 231 case 32
住吉物語絵巻
The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki)
Muromachi period (1392–1573), late 15th– early 16th century
Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll
Harvard Art Museums, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia (1985.424)
In this ink-line version of The Tale of Sumiyoshi, a narrative that predates The Tale of Genji, the protagonist has found his lost love in Sumiyoshi by praying to the bodhisattva Kannon, but has not yet received permission to take her home. Several young courtiers attempt to console him as he waits with a round of a fan-matching. The painting was once part a horizontal handscroll, which, at less than seven inches in height, would have fit comfortably in the reader’s hands.
gallery 230 case 40
伝俵屋宗達筆 源氏物語図「宿木」
Studio of Tawaraya Sōtatsu (died ca. 1643?)
“Trees Encoiled in Vines of Ivy” (Yadorigi)
Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York, Gift of Chizuko and Frank Korn, in honor of Miyeko Murase,
2006 (2006.570)
This painting representing Chapter 49 was cut from a pair of screens featuring scenes from Genji. Kaoru, raised as Genji’s son, lies in bed, a screen shielding him from the evening wind in the hills of Uji. A maidservant piques his curiosity by mentioning a local beauty, Ukifune. The brilliant, richly applied pigments and stylized landscape detail are hallmarks of Tawaraya Sōtatsu’s studio.
gallery 231 case 45
源氏物語草紙蒔絵香合
Incense Box (Kōgō) in the Shape of a Volume of The Tale of Genji
Meiji period (1868–1912), second half 19th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver togidashimaki-e
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. George A. Crocker (Elizabeth Masten), 1937
(38.25.184a, b)
This small incense box was created in the shape of a book. On the cover, suspended from a branch of a blossoming cherry tree, is a long poem-card (tanzaku) inscribed with a poem from Chapter 8, “A Banquet
Celebrating Cherry Blossoms” (Hana no En).
gallery 228 case 31 and 32
源氏物語歌合絵巻
The Genji Poetry Match (Genji monogatari uta-awase emaki)
Muromachi period (1392–1573), first half 16th century
Handscroll; ink on paper with touches of red color
John C. Weber Collection
This scroll depicts an imaginary poetry contest among thirty-six well-known characters from The Tale of Genji divided into Left and Right teams. Each opponent participates in three rounds, for a total of 108 poems presented in fifty-four rounds. The result is an animated compendium of favorite poems from the tale. The charming drawings give each character a distinctive persona, and the fabric curtains are embellished with flowers in gradated ink.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「葵」
“Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki)
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1912 (12.134.11)
This fragment from the Phantom Genji Scrolls depicts the funeral of Genji’s wife, Aoi. In an episode wrought with grief and lamentation, her body is taken to the mortuary grounds of Toribeno. A prelate wearing the orange robes and light blue mantle of a high-ranking Tendai monk performs rites before a richly ornamented altar. The cremation is rendered in bold clarity, with sculptural crimson flames enveloping a brilliant jeweled casket.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「榊」
“A Branch of Sacred Evergreen” (Sakaki), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki)
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Handscroll section mounted on board; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.36a, b)
Now dispersed across multiple collections, Chapter 10 originally consisted of six scrolls with approximately thirty paintings. This meticulously detailed section captures the tonsure (cutting off one’s hair to become a monk or nun) of Genji’s stepmother, Fujitsubo, after an elaborate multiday ceremony of Eight Lectures on the
Lotus Sutra commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Kiritsubo Emperor’s death.
gallery 231 center case
Genji Parlor Games
Genji influenced every type of art form, from those associated with elegant pursuits to parlor games borrowing imagery from the tale. Fragrances are frequently described in the book, which inspired the production of Genji- themed incense utensils as well as complex games in which participants compared incense woods associated with specific chapters or other literary works. Elaborate shell-matching games (kai-awase) and card games (karuta) featuring each of the fifty-four chapters were closely connected to the traditions of poetry contests (uta- awase) and painting competitions (e-awase).
gallery 223 case 2
伝土佐光吉筆 源氏物語 榊帖
Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
Tale of Genji Chapter Books: Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreen” (Sakaki)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century
Thread-bound manuscript book with painted covers; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
This book once formed part of a fifty-four-chapter set, with each chapter bound between covers richly painted in mineral pigments and gold. The front cover of Chapter 10 shows Genji offering a branch of “sacred evergreen” (sakaki) to his former lover Lady Rokujō. Genji wishes to make amends for his neglect of her and to pacify her vengeful wandering spirit, which he suspects caused the death of his wife, Aoi.
gallery 223 case 2
伝土佐光吉筆 源氏物語 柏木帖
Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
Tale of Genji Chapter Books: Chapter 36, “The Oak Tree” (Kashiwagi)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century
Thread-bound manuscript book with painted covers; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection On the front cover of Chapter 36, Tō no Chūjō asks a mountain ascetic to conduct healing rituals for his ailing son Kashiwagi (who is depicted on the book’s back cover). Kashiwagi’s illness stems from his guilt over an illicit relationship with the Third Princess, Genji’s wife. Kashiwagi dies soon after hearing that the Third
Princess has given birth to their son Kaoru, whom Genji raises as his own.
gallery 223 case 3
居初津奈筆 源氏物語
Isome Tsuna (born ca. 1640, active late 17 century)
The Tale of Genji Chapter Books: Chapters 1, 5, 9, 17, 19, 40, 41, and 54
Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th century
Eight books from a set of fifty-four; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
The fifty-four volumes in this spectacular set of Genji books are bound between colorful gold brocade textile covers with varied designs. The prolific artist, author, and editor Isome Tsuna, known for her calligraphy manuals for women, not only copied this entire Genji text but also designed and painted its 223 illustrations.
The circular shape of the figures’ heads, their pink cheeks, and the stylized gold bands are hallmarks of her style.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「帚木」
“Broom Cypress” (Hahakigi), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki)
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
In this sole surviving Phantom Genji scroll from Chapter 2, the “blown-off roof” technique is employed across four sprawling compositions that illustrate Genji’s visit to the Governor of Kii’s residence. Genji moves within the different rooms of the expansive architectural setting as he pursues Utsusemi. Genji is dressed only in under robes with no courtier’s cap, his topknot fully exposed, a new interpretation of the protagonist for the early modern era.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「末摘花」
“The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki), Scroll 2
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Handscroll from a set of three; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
The story of Genji’s encounter with Suetsumuhana, the Safflower Princess, unfolds across three scrolls in the
Phantom Genji set. The artist’s attention to detail is evident in the depiction of the princess’s dilapidated mansion. Moss and green plants sprout from the cypress roof and streaks of watery ink represent the dirt on the plaster. The artist also depicts the princess’s unfortunate red nose, which earlier painters avoided.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「末摘花」 “The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki), Scroll 3
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Handscroll from a set of three; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
After seeing Suetsumuhana’s full appearance, Genji returns home and playfully draws pictures with Murasaki, brushing an image of a woman with a red nose. The room is finely appointed with maki-e lacquer objects, including a mirror, into which Genji will later peer as he dabs his own nose with red, amusing the young
Murasaki. Despite this ridicule, Suetsumuhana eventually becomes one of Genji’s most loyal companions.
gallery 231 center case
幻の源氏物語絵巻 「末摘花」
“The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana), from the Phantom Genji Scrolls (Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki), Scroll 3
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Handscroll from a set of three; ink, color, and gold on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
This wintry scene illustrates the morning when Genji observes Suetsumuhana’s appearance in the glittering light of dawn. The revelation happens behind bamboo blinds, leaving the focus on the garden, where thick snow covers the rooftops, ground, and pine trees. The figure clearing the snow from the orange tree and the man trying to open the gate prompt poetic compositions in the tale.
gallery 223 case 3
土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図色紙 「藤袴」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“Mistflowers” (Fujibakama)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th–early 17th century
Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.30)
In Chapter 30, “Mistflowers,” Yūgiri visits Tamakazura after the death of their grand-mother. Yūgiri has learned that Tamakazura is not his sister but his cousin, thus opening up the possibility of courtship. He brings a message of condolence and a love poem, along with a bouquet of mistflowers. As Tamakazura has honed her skills in fending off Genji’s advances, she artfully sidesteps Yūgiri’s as well. This moment is portrayed with
Mitsuyoshi’s typical refined delicacy.
deck labels 3 columns
gallery 225 case 14
土佐光信筆 源氏物語画帖
Tosa Mitsunobu (active ca. 1462–1525)
The Tale of Genji Album (Genji monogatari gajō)
Muromachi period (1392–1573), 1510
Album of fifty-four paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia
(1985.352)
These paired paintings and calligraphic excerpts represent the oldest extant complete Genji album. The work was commissioned by Sue Saburō and his father, Sue Hiroaki, members of a warrior clan based in the western province of Suō (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture). Six noblemen each contributed their distinctive calligraphy to nine leaves. They brushed their texts on colorful papers (shikishi) painted in five hues with stenciled borders of dragons that emulated paper imported from China. The paintings are by renowned artist
Tosa Mitsunobu, the court-appointed painting bureau director (edokoro azukari), who made Genji paintings a cornerstone of his studio practice. The collaborative endeavor produced a personalized compendium of
Murasaki’s tale through evocative pairings of word and image.
gallery 223 case 5
住吉物語絵巻
The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), late 13th century Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.19a, b)
Murasaki Shikibu ingeniously transformed familiar plots, character types, and settings from older fiction to construct some of the most memorable parts of her tale. Among these models was The Tale of Sumiyoshi, a tenth-century story of a motherless girl who overcomes her conniving stepmother’s abuse. A dashing courtier falls in love with the young woman, but the stepmother fools him into marrying one of her own daughters instead. The girl flees to Sumiyoshi, where she finds protection with her mother’s former nurse. Through the benevolent intervention of the bodhisattva Kannon of Hasedera Temple, the courtier finds her. This scene shows him taking her back to the capital, where they will live happily ever after.
gallery 223 case 1, no photo
藤原定家書 紫式部集切
Fujiwara no Teika (Sadaie, 1162–1241)
Page from The Poetic Memoirs of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu shū-gire)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), first half 13th century
Booklet leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on decorated paper
Private collection, Japan
The jagged handwriting of Fujiwara no Teika—the courtier-poet and literary arbiter par excellence of his era— stands out against a sedate background of stenciled plum-blossom motifs. Although most famous for compiling poetry anthologies of exemplary waka (thirty-one-syllable verse), Teika is also remembered for editing the definitive version of Genji that has been passed down to posterity.
The poem here reads: つれ／＼とながきはる日はあをやぎの いとゝうき世にみだれてぞふる
As I idle the time away on this drawn-out spring day, strands of the willow get all tangled up, like the affairs of this sad world of ours.
—Translation by John T. Carpenter
gallery 223 case 1
藤原 行成書 白居易作 「醉吟先生傳」断簡
Fujiwara no Yukinari (Kōzei, 972–1027)
Excerpt from Bai Juyi’s “Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation” (Suigin sensei den)
Heian period (794–1185), early 11th century
Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Raymond and Priscilla Vickers, 2016 (2016.745)
The highly skilled courtier-calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari earned a reputation as the consolidator of wayō
(Japanese-style) calligraphy. The poet Bai Juyi’s collected works had a greater influence on Murasaki’s tale than any other Chinese work. The lines from Bai’s autobiographical statement read:
Therefore, he called himself the “Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation.” Now in the third year of the Kaicheng reign era [838], he has reached the age of sixty-seven. Though his beard has turned white, his head is half bald, and his teeth are falling out, his enjoyment of wine and poetry has not diminished. Turning to his wife, he said,
“Before now I have always been at ease, but from now on, I do not know if I can enjoy these pleasures in the same way.”
—Translation by John T. Carpenter
gallery 223 case 5
時代不同歌合絵
Competition between Poets of Different Eras (Jidai fudō uta-awase-e)
Muromachi period (1392–1573), 15th century
One of a pair of handscrolls; ink, color, gold, and silver on paper
John C. Weber Collection
In this imaginary competition between poets of different eras, Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji, is pitted against the famous poet Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (859–925), a compiler of the first imperial poetry anthology, Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū, ca. 905). They are the pair on the far right. Mitsune died well before Murasaki was born, but the fanciful competition offers an appealing way to enjoy their famous verses, especially since poems composed expressly for fictional works like Genji were usually not included in imperially commissioned anthologies. An artful selection of anachronistic verses could elicit associative links and new ways of appreciating poetry, as in this rare set of handscrolls, which depict one hundred celebrated poets in brilliant color and three hundred poems brushed in elegant calligraphy.
gallery 231 case 44
山本春正画 『絵入源氏物語』
Yamamoto Shunshō (1610–1682)
The Illustrated Tale of Genji (E-iri Genji monogatari)
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1650
From a set of twenty-four woodblock-printed volumes; ink on paper The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.39a–x)
For centuries, The Tale of Genji circulated in manuscript copies limited to members of the social elite. The classic became more widely known starting only in the early Edo period (1615–1868), as texts of the entire tale, digests, and handbook-style synopses were printed, first in movable-type editions and then in more affordable woodblock-printed versions. One of the earliest mass-produced editions to include woodblock-printed illustrations was this multivolume version, first published in about 1650. The Kyoto- and sometimes Edo-based
Yamamoto Shunshō, best known as a waka poet and lacquer artist, produced the designs for the woodblock prints, which in many cases adhered to the standardized Tosa canon for Genji pictures, but in others diverged from traditional iconography.
gallery 231 case 44
柳亭種彥作 歌川國貞画『偐紫田舎源氏』
Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864)
A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji (Nise Murasaki inaka Genji) by Ryūtei Tanehiko
Edo period (1615–1868), 1829–42
From a set of nineteen woodblock-printed booklets; ink on paper, color-printed covers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Miki and Sebastian Izzard, 2018 (2018.914.1a–v)
Much of the stimulus for late Edo Genji pictures (Genji-e) was due to Ryūtei Tanehiko (1783–1842), who completely rewrote The Tale of Genji as a gōkan (popular literature published in bound volumes) in thirty-eight chapters. The protagonist, Mitsuuji, modeled on the courtier Genji, the “Shining Prince,” is a son of the shogun who poses as a philanderer in the licensed pleasure quarters.
The colorful covers and black-and-white illustrations by Utagawa Kunisada propelled its success, helping it become the first Japanese book to sell over ten thousand copies. The frontispiece of the first volume reproduces the inkstone from Ishiyamadera Temple, said to be used by Murasaki Shikibu when she began to write the tale.
gallery 231 case 44
伝紫式部料 古硯
Murasaki Shikibu’s Inkstone
Traditionally dated to the Heian period (794–1185)
Purple agate
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
According to legend, Murasaki Shikibu used this very inkstone (suzuri) to create the ink with which she brushed
The Tale of Genji. Quite large and made from Chinese purple agate, it is embellished with two incised roundels representing the sun and the moon. Above these are two four-lobed wells for the ink, featuring a carved bull on the right and a carp on the left. The edges and sides of the inkstone are decorated with an engraved foliage design.
By the late Edo period, the inkstone had taken on iconic status and was even depicted in the opening frontispiece of the woodblock-printed A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada, on display nearby.
gallery 231 case 44
歌川国貞 （三代歌川豊国）画 「六玉顔」 山吹を持つ光氏
Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864)
Mitsuuji with Mountain Roses (Yamabuki), from the series Six Jewel Faces (Mu tama-gao)
Edo period (1615–1868), mid- to late 1830s Uncut fan print; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Alan and Barbara Medaugh Gift, 2019 (2019.2)
Mitsuuji, the samurai protagonist of A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji, displayed nearby, is shown in this half-bust portrait on a fan print. His “lobster-tail” topknot, flipped forward and split in front (not how elite samurai actually wore their hair), became a trademark feature of depictions by Utagawa Kunisada and his disciples. The colorful background, with explosions of tie-dyed floral motifs, is a reminder of how Kunisada made all his thousands of Genji-print designs a visual record of different textile patterns of the day.
The title Six Jewel Faces (Mu tama-gao), along with its allusion to the literary theme of Six Jewel Rivers, suggests that this set of fan prints captures the appearance of a half-dozen attractive individuals, and, indeed, the other five works in the set show images of beautiful women, mostly courtesans of the pleasure quarters.
gallery 231 case 44
二代歌川国盛画 『艶色品定女』
Utagawa Kunimori II (active 1830–61)
Judgments on the Erotic Charms of Women (Enshoku shina sadame) by Miyagi Gengyo
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1852
Set of three woodblock-printed books (hanshibon); ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
(2013.758a–c)
A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji was a best seller of its day and engendered a boom in the popularity of woodblock prints on the subject. Less well known is that Rustic Genji also triggered a flood of erotic illustrated books (shunpon).
Shown here is one of the most outrageous erotic versions of The Tale of Genji by Utagawa Kunisada’s pupil
Utagawa Kunimori, with text by author and print artist Miyagi Gengyo (1817–1880), who signs himself Inraku Sanjin 婬楽山人, “Gentleman of Bawdy Pleasures.” The punning title refers to the “judgments on women”
(shina sadame) episode in Chapter 2, “Broom Cypress,” of the original Genji. The phrase enshoku suggests that not only are their personal virtues being judged but so too are their sensual qualities.
gallery 231 case 45
歌川国貞（三代歌川豊国）画 「源氏後集余情 五十のまき / あづまや」
Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864)
Parody of the Third Princess and Kashiwagi: “Chapter 50: A Hut in the Eastern Provinces”
Edo period (1615–1868), 1858, second month
Diptych of polychrome woodblock ōban prints; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1985 (JP3683a, b)
Through his illustrations of A Fraudulent Murasaki’s Rustic Genji, single-sheet prints, triptychs, and diptychs,
Utagawa Kunisada was more prolific than any other ukiyo-e artist in the creation of Genji-themed prints. This pair of prints is thirty-seventh in a group of thirty-eight diptychs from the series Lasting Impressions of a Late
Genji Collection (Genji goshū yojō), published between 1857 and 1861. The most complex and visually satisfying of Kunisada’s Genji images, this series was lavishly printed on thick paper to allow special effects such as blind printing (karazuri) or textile-weave printing (nunomezuri). The metallic pigments, the burnishing
(shōmenzuri), and the overall luxurious presentation usually characterize deluxe privately published prints called surimono.
gallery 224 case 7
如意輪観音像 Seated Bodhisattva Nyoirin Kannon (Sanskrit: Cintamani Chakra Avalokiteshvara)
Heian period (794–1185), 10th century
Wood with lacquer and gold leaf
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
This sculpture functioned as a surrogate for Ishiyamadera’s main icon, a “hidden Buddha” (hibutsu) concealed behind the altar. It predates the “hidden” icon now at the temple, which replaced an eighth-century sculpture destroyed in 1078, and may preserve something of the original’s appearance.
While many Nyoirin images have six arms, this one has two; its pose is unusual, and it lacks the slightly later
“feminization” of Nyoirin Kannon iconography. Pilgrims, especially women seeking assistance with conception, childbirth, marital harmony, and similar concerns, put their faith in the work’s powers. It was to this very sculpture that worshippers of Murasaki’s day directed such prayers.
gallery 225 case 17
源氏物語草紙蒔絵香箱
Incense Box (kōbako) in the Shape of Five Volumes of The Tale of Genji
Meiji period (1868–1912), late 19th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold- and silver-foil application, and red and green lacquer
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. George A. Crocker (Elizabeth Masten), 1937
(38.25.165a, b)
This refined incense box in the shape of five books bound by a brocade cover bears the tale’s title in Japanese,
Genji monogatari. The brocade design features medallion-shaped Chinese lions, peonies, and scattered
“auspicious treasures.” The incense tray inside is embellished with a rolled-up bamboo blind and an attached “medicine ball” (kusudama), a hanging ornament that served as an amulet.
gallery 225 case 17, rotation 2
青磁花唐草牡丹文冠形香炉
Incense Burner in the Shape of a Courtier’s Hat with Scrolling Peonies
Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1690–1750
Porcelain with celadon glaze (Hizen ware, Nabeshima type)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Charles Stewart Smith, 1893 (93.3.17)
The complex form of this incense burner is based on the Heian-period courtier hat (kanmuri) that was part of the formal court dress (sokutai) of aristocrats. The black-lacquered hat has a low, flat cap, a tall knob at the back for the topknot, two crossbars attached to the two sides of the knob to stabilize the hat, and a long, flat tail in the back. With the ubiquitous appearance of courtiers’ hats in Genji painting and the numerous references to incense in the tale, it was an ingenious idea to create an incense burner in the kanmuri shape.
Nabeshima-type celadon vessels were covered with a thick layer or two of glaze, creating elegant high-quality wares, enriched here by relief peonies and scrolling vines that decorate the censer’s body.
gallery 229 case 35
梨子地葵牡丹紋散二葉葵唐草蒔絵十種香箱
Ten-Round Incense Game Set (Jisshukō-bako) with Arabesque Foliage and Family Crests
Edo period (1615–1868), 1856
Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e on nashiji (“pear-skin”) ground
Osaka Aoyama University Museum of History and Literature, Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture This incense game set was part of Atsu-hime’s elaborate wedding trousseau (along with the bridal palanquin on display near the Shoin Room), made in 1856 to celebrate her marriage to the thirteenth Tokugawa shogun,
Iesada. The set is decorated with the crests of the Tokugawa and Konoe families. During the “ten-round incense game,” players had to memorize the scents of three known woods and be able to detect a fourth, which was passed around only once. The set’s utensils include two blue-and-white porcelain incense heaters, metal implements, a tiered incense box, several trays for the mica plates on which the incense wood rested in the heater, wooden “answer cards,” and a folding album with incense symbols and pictures symbolizing each chapter of the tale.
gallery 229 case 34
肉筆源氏物語かるた
Tale of Genji Poem-Matching Cards
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century
108 cards; ink, color, gold, and gold and silver leaf on paper
John C. Weber Collection
Playing cards (karuta) were introduced to Japan by Portuguese merchants during the second half of the sixteenth century. Japanese versions emerged soon after, probably inspired by the shell-matching game.
These two decks of Genji cards include a single waka poem and a miniature painting associated with each of the tale’s fifty-four chapters. The cards in the first deck, each with a hand-painted scene from the chapter, the title, and the first part of one verse, were read aloud. The cards in the other deck, called “picking cards,” contained the poems’ second halves and were spread out on the floor. After the caller read the beginning of the poem, players rushed to find the card with the second half.
gallery 229 case 36
源氏物語合貝
Shells from a Shell-Matching Game Set (Awase-gai)
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century
Ink, color, gofun (ground-shell pigment), and gold on clamshell halves
The Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya
As only the two halves of a specific clamshell can be perfectly matched, this competition’s goal was to identify as many matching shells as possible, typically using 360 shells. The left half was the “ground shell,” and these were spread out upside down on the floor. The right half was the “calling shell.” A single calling shell was placed upside down in the center of the ground shells, and the competitors had to find the matching half. From the early Edo period, the inside surfaces of the shells were sometimes decorated with scenes from The Tale of
Genji, as seen here. However, the paintings served only to confirm the match.
gallery 227 case 25
能面 『泥眼』
Deigan Noh Mask
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century
Wood, gesso, polychrome pigments, and gold accents
Collection of Allen Rosenbaum
The Noh play Lady Aoi (Aoi no Ue) by Zeami is based on Chapter 9, “Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi). Lady Aoi,
Genji’s first wife, is possessed by a spirit during childbirth and becomes seriously ill. The culprit appears to be the vengeful spirit of Genji’s neglected former lover, Lady Rokujō, humiliated by Aoi during the “battle of the carriages” scene. Lady Rokujō first appears on stage seeking retribution, wearing the deigan (“gilded” or “golden eyes”) mask. The mask represents a mature woman who carries within her the seeds of supernatural transformation, while simultaneously signaling a demonic spirit that will soon manifest. The large, prominent forehead and gilded eyes are its most distinctive features.
gallery 227 case 25
友閑満庸作 能面 『般若』
Yūkan Mitsuyasu (1577–1652)
Hannya Noh Mask
Edo period (1615–1868), first half 17th century
Wood, gesso, polychrome pigments, and brass and gold accents
Collection of Stephen Marvin
In the second part of the play titled Lady Aoi (Aoi no Ue) by Zeami, based on Chapter 9, “Leaves of Wild
Ginger” (Aoi), a mountain monk is summoned to perform a ritual to exorcise the vengeful spirit of Lady
Rokujō. The jealousy in her heart is embodied as a female ogre, played by a Noh actor wearing a hannya mask, representing a female serpent-demon. A battle rages between the monk and the demon. Eventually, a Buddhist scripture reaches the lady’s heart, and her ogre aspect is calmed.
The hannya mask has an open mouth, strong jaw, sharp teeth, golden eyes, and two horns. Its expression is simultaneously demonic, angry, frightening, tormented, and sorrowful.
gallery 230 case 40
志野橋文茶碗 「神橋」
Shino Tea Bowl with Bridge and Shrine, Known as “Bridge of the Gods” (Shinkyō) Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th century
Glazed stoneware with design painted in iron oxide (Mino ware, Shino type)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.271)
This Shino-ware tea bowl has a linear design of a bridge and a Shinto shrine. The arched bridge is drawn with two parallel lines, and its pillars are indicated by four vertical strokes. The guardrails are represented by short lines emerging from the body of the bridge. The application of rich iron oxide under the thick white glaze creates the illusion of a misty landscape. Some Shino tea bowls with similar stylized compositions came to be associated with Chapter 45, “The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge” (Hashihime), referring to a female deity protecting the Uji Bridge, enshrined in the Hashihime Shrine on the bridge’s west side. This tea bowl can also be associated with the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka.
gallery 230 case 40
橋姫蒔絵硯箱
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with “The Lady of the Bridge” Design
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, and silver inlay on gold nashiji (“pear-skin”) ground
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.284a–d)
The exterior of this writing box shows two aristocratic ladies reading a letter on a veranda, surrounded by a garden of autumn grasses. The first two lines of a poem from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern
(Kokin wakashū, ca. 905) are inscribed in inlaid characters on the lid’s exterior and continue on the interior, after which readers are left to complete the poem:
Does she wait for me
Again tonight, having spread
But a single robe
On her woven rush matting—
The maiden at Uji Bridge?
—Translation by H. C. McCullough
The scene and the poem might refer to the Genji chapter “The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge” (Hashihime).
gallery 230 case 40
誰ヶ袖蒔絵重箱
Stacked Food Box (Jūbako) with “Whose Sleeves?” (Tagasode) Design
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, gold- and silver-foil application, and mother-of-pearl inlay on gold nashiji (“pear-skin”) ground
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.288a–e)
This elegant food box, created for a celebratory meal, features garment racks draped with kimonos and clothing accessories. Such images were called “Whose Sleeves?” (Tagasode), a phrase used in waka poetry that here suggests the absent but presumably elegant owner of the depicted garments. Such imagery became popular on folding screens and on decorative arts from the late sixteenth century onward.
In this design, the lower panel of the lacquer stand includes a scene from Chapter 51, “A Boat Cast Adrift”
(Ukifune), in which the amorous Prince Niou takes Ukifune away by boat on a cold early spring day to a mansion across the Uji River. On the way, they stop at the Isle of Orange Trees and exchange poetry, the moment captured on the box.
gallery 225 case 11
柿本人麻呂蒔絵硯箱
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.2.19a–e)
Imaginary portraits of Genji author Murasaki Shikibu had a precedent in images of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
(died ca. 715), one of Japan’s greatest poets, shown on this writing box. Hitomaro leans on an armrest, immersed in thought, a pose first used in portraits of the author from the Kamakura period (1185–1333). His most famous waka (thirty-one-syllable poem), anthologized in the Kokinshū (compiled in 905), was prominently referenced in Genji:
In dawn’s first dim light, my thoughts follow a small boat, going island-hid through the morning fog and mist at Akashi-no-ura.
—Translation by H. C. McCullough
The interior is decorated with a scene of distant sails and the coastal pines of Akashi Bay.
gallery 231 case 45
合貝形源氏蒔絵香箱
Incense Box (Kōbako) with Scene from The Tale of Genji
Meiji period (1868–1912), second half 19th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, cutout gold- and silver-foil application
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. George A. Crocker (Elizabeth Masten), 1937
(38.25.158a, b)
This incense box in the shape of two interlocking shells imitates the painted clamshells used in the shell- matching game (kai-awase). The scene here refers to Chapter 42, “The Fragrant Prince” (Nioumiya). Publicly recognized as Genji’s son, Kaoru has doubts about the circumstances of his birth. A poem voiced by him is inscribed in fine gold lines within stylized clouds:
Whom might I ask?
Why must it be that I do not know the beginning or the end?
—Translation by Edward G. Seidensticker
gallery 223 case 1
伝慈円筆 源氏物語 須磨帖 Tale of Genji Chapter Book: “Exile to Suma” (Suma)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), mid-13th century
Thread-bound manuscript book; ink on decorated paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald F. Hyde in honor of Karl Kup
(1974.89.1)
This thirteenth-century chapter book and the one nearby are among the oldest manuscripts of the tale. These books use the “section-binding” (tetchōsō, tetsuyōsō, or retsujōsō) technique, in which stacks of several sheets of soft mulberry paper are folded in half and stitched at the crease to create one of several signatures that are then bound together. Pages of both volumes bear striking decorations that enhance the reading experience.
The spread here uses the “flowing ink” (suminagashi) technique, in which swirling patterns of ink dropped in water are captured on paper laid on the water’s surface, creating patterns that resemble marble, wood grain, or water. The latter seems especially relevant in the case of “Exile to Suma,” which refers to the location along the
Inland Sea (present-day Kōbe) where Genji retreats in self-imposed exile.
gallery 223 case 1
伝慈円筆 源氏物語 蜻蛉帖
Tale of Genji Chapter Book: “Ephemerids” (Kagerō)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), mid-13th century
Thread-bound manuscript book; ink on decorated paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald F. Hyde in honor of Karl Kup
(1974.89.2)
gallery 223 case 1
伝藤原行成書 「荒木切」『古今和歌集』
Attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari (972–1027)
Three Poems from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū), one of the Araki
Fragments (Araki-gire)
Heian period (794–1185), second half 11th century
Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.230)
The long strands of calligraphy were inscribed without lifting the brush from the paper. Such “unbroken-line”
(renmentai) brushwork, considered de rigueur for ladies of the palace during the age of Genji, came to characterize much of the period’s poetic inscriptions.
The “cloud paper” (kumogami), moreover, recalls the type popular in the Heian court from the tenth century onward. Indigo-dyed pulp was used when fabricating the paper, resulting in abstract undulating patterns of blue or purple—especially striking across the wide expanse of a handscroll—that were favored as an attractive backdrop for presenting poems.
gallery 224 case 7
伝九条兼実書 『法華経』の内
Attributed to Kujō Kanezane (1149–1207)
Segment of the Lotus Sutra (Hoke-kyō)
Heian period (794–1185), late 12th century
Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on colored paper decorated with cut gold (kirikane), sprinkled gold (sunago), and silver leaf The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1990 (1990.116)
Buddhist scriptures—transcribed in glittering gold and silver pigments on indigo-dyed papers and featuring elaborate frontispieces, or as here, in ink on gorgeously decorated papers—attest to the importance placed on the brush-written word. It was believed that copying sutras or having them copied would bestow religious merit, and therefore no expense was spared in creating gorgeous editions of them. This five-line segment of a sumptuous handscroll of the Lotus Sutra embodies the aesthetics and religious practice of the late Heian period.
The excerpt is from Chapter 19, “Benefits of the Teacher of the Law,” which promises that believers who accept the teachings of the sutra will be able to perfect their faculty of smell so that they can distinguish the different fragrances of heavenly beings and realms.
gallery 228 case 31
為家本時代不同歌合絵
Poetry Contest with Poets from Various Periods, Tameie Version (Tameie-bon Jidai fudō uta-awase-e)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), mid-13th century
Handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
John C. Weber Collection
This elegant hanging scroll depicts a pair of imaginary poet portraits, rendered entirely in ink outline, from the
Poetry Contest with Poets from Various Periods. Shown here is round 103 of the imaginary competition: on the right, Michitsuna’s Mother (ca. 937–995), author of the Kagerō Diary (Kagerō nikki, ca. 971), faces off against lady-in-waiting Kojijū (ca. 1121–1201?).
gallery 228 case 31
為家本時代不同歌合絵
Poetry Contest with Poets from Various Periods, Tameie Version (Tameie-bon Jidai fudō uta-awase-e)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), mid-13th century
Handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia
(1985.412)
Crucial to the development of a distinctive aesthetic of Genji paintings in the ink-line drawing (hakubyō) mode was the emergence of the poet-portrait tradition (kasen-e), in which portrayals of poets accompanied transcriptions of their verses. Faces are rendered in expressive detail, while garments are suggested by stylized outlines. Here, scholar-poet Taira no Sadafun (died 923), shown on the right, faces off against courtier-poet
Fujiwara no Shigeie (1128–1180).
gallery 230 case 37
田中親美筆 源氏物語絵巻
Tanaka Shinbi (1875–1975)
The Tale of Genji Handscrolls
Taishō (1912–26)–Shōwa (1926–89) period, 1926–35
Handscroll; paintings: ink and color on paper; calligraphy: ink on paper with gold and silver decoration
The Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya
Among the oldest and most revered manuscripts of the tale, the Illustrated Tale of Genji Scrolls is a National
Treasure now preserved at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya and the Gotoh Museum in Tokyo. One of the greatest endeavors in modern times to copy the original Genji Scrolls was carried out by Tanaka Shinbi, renowned for his meticulous hand-painted reproductions of various National Treasures of Japanese painting and calligraphy. Between 1926 and 1935, he worked on a meticulous copy of the Tokugawa scrolls (shown here). Shinbi earned accolades for his revival and mastery of ancient paper-decoration and painting techniques, long thought to be lost, and had a major impact on Nihonga painters working on traditional themes.
gallery 223 case 4 rotation 2
源氏物語絵巻 「澪標」
“Channel Markers” (Miotsukushi)
Nanbokuchō (1336–92) or Muromachi (1392–1573) period, late 14th–early 15th century
Handscroll; ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G.
C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer
Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.33)
This section of a rare medieval polychrome handscroll illustrates a scene from “Channel Markers,” Chapter 14 of the tale. Genji visits Sumiyoshi Shrine to thank the local deities for answering his prayers and allowing his safe return from exile at Suma. Without showing landscape background, the artist remains faithful to the author’s description: “Genji had arranged for an escort of ten charming page boys, all the same height and outfitted in a most delightful style, their long hair bound in loops at their ears with thin white cords that had been dyed purple at the tips. All in all, they presented a vibrant, refined appearance that was strikingly modern.”
Genji appears midway through the procession, partially concealed in his ox-driven carriage but with his face visible through the window.
gallery 225 case 10
伝高階隆兼筆 伝杲守詞書 石山寺縁起絵巻 （巻第三）
Attributed to Takashina Takakane (active early 14th century)
Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera (Ishiyamadera engi emaki), Scroll 3
Kamakura period (1185–1333), ca. 14th century
One handscroll from a set of seven; ink and color on paper
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture Important Cultural Property
Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera depicts thirty-three separate stories about the miraculous powers of the temple’s main icon, the Nyoirin Kannon, popular especially among female pilgrims for its wish-fulfilling jewel and ability to aid in conception and safe childbirth. Author and self-professed Genji fanatic Takasue no Musume made the journey there in 1045, which is depicted here, and recorded it in her memoir, The Sarashina Diary (ca.
1060).
gallery 226 case 21
土佐光吉筆 飛鳥井雅庸書 源氏物語手鑑 「横笛」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
Calligraphy by Asukai Masatsune (1569–1615)
“The Transverse Flute” (Yokobue)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 1612
From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture Important Cultural Property
The album to which these leaves originally belonged is highly valued for Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s artistry and the calligraphy by eighteen noblemen on uniquely decorated papers with gold and silver and stenciled designs.
Ishikawa Tadafusa (1582–1650), a daimyo in service to the Tokugawa shoguns, commissioned the work. Its overall opulence and scenes of an idyllic Rokujō estate and childbirth made it appropriate for inclusion in a bridal trousseau.
Here, the ghost of Kashiwagi hovers over his friend, Genji’s son Yūgiri, who is fast asleep. Intricate gold patterns depict the surface of Kashiwagi’s robes, and the lightest shades of gray of the head, hair, and courtier’s hat convey his ethereal quality. Kashiwagi informs Yūgiri in a dream that the transverse flute at Yūgiri’s side rightfully belongs to Kashiwagi’s son, Kaoru.
gallery 226, case 21, rotation 2
土佐光吉筆 徳大寺実久書 源氏物語手鑑 「若菜 下」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
Calligraphy by Tokudaiji Sanehisa (1583–1616)
“Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 1612
From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture Important Cultural Property
The album to which these leaves originally belonged is highly valued for Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s artistry and the calligraphy by eighteen noblemen on uniquely decorated papers with gold and silver and stenciled designs.
Ishikawa Tadafusa (1582–1650), a daimyo in service to the Tokugawa shoguns, commissioned the work. Its overall opulence and scenes of an idyllic Rokujō estate and childbirth made it appropriate for inclusion in a bridal trousseau.
Here, the Akashi Empress has just safely delivered a son, solidifying Genji’s political power and fulfilling the dream of the Akashi Novitiate. The labor occurs in the quarters of the Akashi Lady, where the new mother is being assisted by attendants while the Akashi Lady and Lady Murasaki fuss over the baby, one of them holding him close to her chest.
gallery 226 case 21 rotation 3
土佐光吉筆 山科言緒書 源氏物語手鑑 「若菜 下」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
Calligraphy by Yamashina Tokio (1577–1620)
“Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 1612
From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
The album to which these leaves originally belonged is highly valued for Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s artistry and the calligraphy by eighteen noblemen on uniquely decorated papers with gold and silver and stenciled designs.
Ishikawa Tadafusa (1582–1650), a daimyo in service to the Tokugawa shoguns, commissioned the work. Its overall opulence and scenes of an idyllic Rokujō estate and childbirth made it appropriate for inclusion in a bridal trousseau.
To prepare for Emperor Suzaku’s fiftieth-year celebrations, here Genji stages a women’s concert at Rokujō. The
Third Princess plays the thirteen-string koto, the Akashi Lady the biwa lute, and Murasaki the Japanese-style six-string koto. Beyond the blinds, Tamakazura’s oldest son plays the pipes, Yūgiri’s son the flute, and Yūgiri tunes the koto for the Akashi Empress, who leans against an armrest.
gallery 226 case 21 rotation 4
土佐光吉筆 冷泉為頼書 源氏物語手鑑 「胡蝶」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613) Calligraphy by Reizei Tameyori (1592–1627)
“Butterflies” (Kochō)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 1612
From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
The album to which these leaves originally belonged is highly valued for Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s artistry and the calligraphy by eighteen noblemen on uniquely decorated papers with gold and silver and stenciled designs.
Ishikawa Tadafusa (1582–1650), a daimyo in service to the Tokugawa shoguns, commissioned the work. Its overall opulence and scenes of an idyllic Rokujō estate and childbirth made it appropriate for inclusion in a bridal trousseau.
Lady Murasaki’s spring quadrant at the Rokujō estate is at its peak here, with cherry blossoms and yellow kerria flowering in profusion. Into this paradisal setting, female attendants arrive in a dragon-headed boat from the autumn quadrant of the Umetsubo Empress (Akikonomu). The next day, Murasaki sends page girls costumed as birds and butterflies to the empress’s sutra reading.
gallery 224 case 7 rotation 3
如意輪観音坐像
Nyoirin Kannon
Edo period (1615–1868), dated 1693 Wood with gold, gold leaf, lacquer, and crystal inlay
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1956 (56.39)
The bodhisattva Kannon (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara) is represented here with Esoteric Buddhist attributes: the wish-fulfilling jewel (nyoi hōju) and the wheel (rin) of Buddhist teachings. Carved into the base are female donors’ names; this votive offering to a temple may have been in connection with the monthly jūkuya-kō ritual for the health and safe delivery of children.
gallery 223 case 1
伝慈円筆 源氏物語 蜻蛉帖
Tale of Genji Chapter Book: “Ephemerids” (Kagerō)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), mid-13th century
Thread-bound manuscript book; ink on decorated paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Donald F. Hyde in honor of Karl Kup
(1974.89.2)
The distinctive two-page tableau shown here was created by sprinkling yellow-brown granulated pigment over papers to which variously shaped stencils have been applied: a crescent moon, a dramatic diagonal band, paulownia flowers, a line of flying geese, and a stylized sandbar (suhama). The soft mulberry paper of books such as this makes them particularly easy to handle. The calligraphy is said to be in the style of Monk Jien
(1155–1225).
gallery 223 case 1 rotation 2
「石山切・西本願寺本三十六人家集」の内、『伊勢集』の断簡
Page from the “Collection of Poems by Lady Ise” (Ise shū)
Heian period (794–1185), early 12th century
Page from a book mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on decorated paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.231) Elegant strands of kana calligraphy in varying ink tones impart a sense of subtle rhythmic movement on this page of decorated paper. Printed in mica with impressed floral patterns and stylized peacocks, the paper was then further embellished with printed silver designs of pine branches, various plants, and abstractly rendered birds in flight. The page was originally part of a set of personal poetry collections of thirty-six famous poets from ancient to Heian times. This version was referred to as Nishi-Honganji Edition of the Thirty-Six Poetic
Immortals (Nishi-Honganji-bon Sanjūrokunin kashū). The detached sections of this set are called the Ishiyama
Fragments (Ishiyama-gire).
gallery 231 case 45
与謝野晶子訳 中澤弘光画 『新訳源氏物語』
A New Translation of The Tale of Genji (Shin’yaku Genji monogatari) by Yosano Akiko
Meiji period (1868–1912), 1912 (vols. 1, 2); Taishō period (1912–26), 1913 (vols. 3, 4)
Woodblock-printed illustrations; ink and color on paper
Collection of Michael Emmerich
The prolific poet, fiction writer, and essayist Yosano Akiko (1878–1942) transformed Genji into a modern
“novel” (shōsetsu) in her vernacular Japanese translation. The books are adorned with vibrant cover designs and illustrations by the artist Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874–1964), a proponent of the “new woodblock print” (shin- hanga) movement, which combined Edo-period printing traditions with a Western art sensibility.
gallery 223, vitrine C, rotation 2
駒競行幸絵巻
Imperial Visitation for the Ceremonial Horserace of 1024 (Komakurabe gyōkō emaki) Kamakura period (1185–1333), 13th–early 14th century
Handscroll; ink, colors, and gold on paper
Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Osaka Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
This beautifully preserved scroll illustrates events from A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga monogatari, ca.
1092), which celebrates the Fujiwara family and Empress Shōshi, Murasaki Shikibu’s patron. This scene epitomizes the splendor of Heian court culture, as it depicts the luxurious shinden-zukuri-style residence of
Shōshi’s brother, the Regent Fujiwara no Yorimichi. In the central building sit Shōshi’s two imperial sons:
Emperor Go-Ichigo on a simple dais, largely hidden from view, and the elegant crown prince wearing a bright orange robe with a red phoenix pattern connoting his future sovereignty. Elaborate boats carry musicians in midperformance across the artificial lake, and clusters of white chrysanthemums and auspicious cranes and turtles along the shore suggest the longevity of the Fujiwara family.
gallery 228 case 30
伝花屋玉栄筆 白描源氏物語絵巻
Attributed to Kaoku Gyokuei (born 1526)
Scenes Illustrating Poems from The Tale of Genji (Hakubyō Genji monogatari emaki), Scrolls 3 and 4
Muromachi period (1392–1573), 1554
Two handscrolls from a set of six; ink on paper
New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
These handscrolls are from a set of six illustrating poems from Genji, which represent the pinnacle of ink-line drawing (hakubyō) in the amateur mode. The works exhibit an appealing hallmark of ink-line painting: exuberant, charmingly out-of-scale flowers and grasses, depicted with subtle gradations of ink. The elaborate paintings reflect a level of engagement with the tale found in Genji commentaries from the same period, making the attribution to Kaoku Gyokuei, a female author of commentaries and collections of Genji poetry, likely. The final scroll of the set has a rare dated colophon indicating that it was a copy of an earlier work.
gallery 223 case 2
小野お通書 源氏物語画帖
Calligraphy by Ono no Otsū (1559/68–1631)
Excerpts from The Tale of Genji
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 17th century
Leaves from an orihon album; calligraphies: ink on decorated paper; paintings: ink, color, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney
Cowles, 2018 (2018.853.39a–d)
Calligraphy in the distinctive style of Ono no Otsū, one of the most prominent woman calligraphers of premodern Japan, graces sheets of decorated paper in this pair of albums with scenes from The Tale of Genji painted by an anonymous Tosa-school artist. Otsū wrote mostly in kana, interspersed with flamboyantly rendered kanji for poetically evocative words. The sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic variations in the weight of the brushstrokes and the radical spacing between characters and clusters of characters are trademarks of her style. Otsū also demonstrated her mastery of the “scattered writing” technique, whereby she artfully disposed the registers of the poem across the page and sometimes positioned lines of the poem out of sequence.
gallery 223 case 3
土佐光吉周辺作 源氏物語帖 「玉鬘」
Circle of Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613) “A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 17th century
Album leaves mounted as a pair of hanging scrolls; ink, gold, silver, and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.33a, b)
In Chapter 22, “A Lovely Garland,” new robes are distributed to ladies in Genji’s household as the New Year approaches. Genji sits near his beloved Murasaki, while the women put garments into lacquered boxes.
Mandarin ducks, symbolic of marital harmony, swim in the garden pond. The calligraphy has been attributed to the prominent courtier Konoe Sakihisa (1536–1612).
Large labels
gallery 224
Buddhist Altar
Dainichi Nyorai (Sanskrit: Mahavairocana Tathagata), a cosmic form of the Buddha from which the entire universe emanates, is a central deity of worship in Esoteric Buddhism.
Placed before this twelfth-century sculpture in The Met collection are ritual objects from Ishiyamadera Temple that are used for daily rituals within the multisensorial space of the temple hall. The bronze vases, candlesticks, and censer form a standard arrangement that symbolizes the gifting of flowers, incense, and light, while the multitiered lacquer stand filled with sweets is unique to Ishiyamadera. The flaming jewel represents the
Buddhist wish-fulfilling jewel (nyoi hōju), which through the influence of medieval Esoteric Buddhism became synonymous with the Buddha’s bodily relics. The ritual banners flanking the central sculpture demarcate the altar as a sacred area and evoke a vision of Buddha’s world.
gallery 224 case 6
清原雪信筆 紫式部観月図
Kiyohara Yukinobu (1643–1682)
Murasaki Shikibu Gazing at the Moon (Murasaki Shikibu kangetsu zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
This painting illustrates the legend of Murasaki Shikibu writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera, capturing her in midcomposition as she replenishes the ink in her brush and gazes toward the moon’s reflection on the water. Voluminous otherworldly clouds roiling above indicate that something supernatural is afoot and suggest the workings of the bodhisattva Kannon, who is said to have inspired Murasaki’s sudden insight.
Kiyohara Yukinobu was a lauded female professional painter with an exalted Kano-school pedigree. She used a subdued palette and ample negative space to create an ethereal atmosphere, punctuated by boldly inked rocks and trees as well as touches of precisely applied vibrant color. The unusual inclusion of an ink landscape screen, depicted behind Murasaki Shikibu, hints at Yukinobu’s training in Chinese-style ink painting.
gallery 225 case 11
土佐光起筆 紫式部観月図
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691)
Murasaki Shikibu Gazing at the Moon (Murasaki Shikibu kangetsu zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
This painting illustrates the legend of Murasaki Shikibu being guided by the bodhisattva Kannon to write The
Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera as she gazes at the moon’s watery reflection. Legend states that she started with
Chapter 12, “Exile to Suma,” hence the inclusion here of an inscription from that chapter, which describes Genji gazing at the moon over the water while in exile.
Tosa Mitsuoki’s painting emulates a 1560 hanging scroll by Tosa Mitsumoto that shows the author in quiet contemplation and suggests a belief in Murasaki as a manifestation of Kannon. The sharply contoured rocks in the foreground, representing the famous wollastonite crags of Ishiyamadera, also encouraged a view of the temple as a manifestation of Mount Potalaka, the mythical rocky-island dwelling of Kannon.
gallery 224 case 8
狩野岑信筆 近衛家熈書 紫式部図
Kano Minenobu (1662–1709)
Calligraphy attributed to Konoe Iehiro (1667–1736)
Portrait-Icon of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
Kano Minenobu depicts Murasaki Shikibu in action, wielding her brush, steadying her paper, and gazing down at her text, seemingly pleased with her work. Her ornate black lacquer desk has bowed legs and touches of gold.
Over layers of colorful robes, she wears a pleated apron decorated with the scene of a curving shoreline dotted with pines. The image evokes Suma and Akashi as well as Sumiyoshi, whose shrine and resident deity play a pivotal role in The Tale of Genji. Above the figure, three painted cartouches bear inscriptions referring to
Murasaki’s attainment of Buddhist insight concerning the nondualistic nature of phenomena. Commentators suggested this insight enabled her to produce a tale infused with an awareness of life’s impermanence.
gallery 225 case 12
土左光成筆 紫式部・須磨・明石図
Tosa Mitsunari (1646–1710)
Murasaki Shikibu, Genji at Suma, and Genji at Akashi (Murasaki Shikibu, Suma, Akashi zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th or early 18th century
Triptych of hanging scrolls; ink and color on silk Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
The origin myth of how Murasaki Shikibu composed the tale says that she began with Chapters 12 and 13,
“Exile to Suma” and “The Lady at Akashi,” and here paintings of those chapters flank the central image of the author. The three separate scrolls are presented as sharing the same moon and shoreline, unifying the assemblage and suggesting their emergence from the author’s imagination. In the painting on the right, it is the fifteenth day of the eighth month, and from his rustic abode in exile, Genji gazes toward the brilliant moon, which prompts him to remember his loved ones back in the capital viewing the same moon. On the left, Genji sets out on horseback to meet the Akashi Lady, who will be instrumental to his political rise.
gallery 225 case 13
紫式部聖像
Sacred Icon of Murasaki Shikibu (Murasaki Shikibu seizō)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 16th century
Hanging scroll; ink, colors, and gold on silk
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
In this monumental painting of Murasaki Shikibu, the author looks down toward six different scenes from her tale, divided by clouds and distributed along the left and bottom of the composition. Executed in a copper-based pigment, the scenes are difficult to discern (see the diagram for tentative identifications). The images seem to emerge not only from the author’s mind but also from wisps of smoke, perhaps meant to signal incense, rising from a container near the desk. An inscription at the top of the painting is impossible to decipher because of damage, but certain phrases referring to the sacredness of waka poetry suggest how the tenets of Esoteric
Buddhism were integrated with Murasaki icons into poetic practice.
This early painting has suffered from long periods of exposure at the temple where it was hung as an object of veneration, but its fragile state seems to enhance its sacred aura.
case 13 rotation 2
key to text on image:
Chapter 4, “The Lady of the Evening Faces” (Yūgao)
Chapter 35, “Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
Chapter 6, “The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana)
Chapter 8, “A Banquet Celebrating Cherry Blossoms” (Hana no en)
Chapter 19, “A Thin Veil of Clouds” (Usugumo)
Chapter 22, “A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura)
gallery 226 case 20
土佐光吉様式 源氏物語図屏風 「若紫」
In the style of Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Honolulu Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Ray R. Reeves, 1960 (2785.1)
In this scene from Chapter 5, Genji is on his way home from the northern hills, where he has glimpsed the young Murasaki (age 10) and asked the bishop (her great uncle) to let him take the girl. The bishop denies this audacious request, but succumbing to Genji’s radiant beauty, he invites him to play the koto and likens him to the precious udumbara flower of Buddhist lore. The artist depicts Genji leaning nonchalantly on a moss- covered rock, surrounded by red azaleas and a profusion of mountain cherry blossoms. This screen bears a striking resemblance to former sliding-door paintings (now folding screens) on view in Gallery 227, and might be based on a Tosa Mitsuyoshi original once part of that set.
gallery 226 case 22, 2 copies
伝狩野晴川院養信筆 源氏物語図衝立 「初音」
Attributed to Kano Seisen’in Osanobu (1796–1846)
“First Song of Spring” (Hatsune)
Edo period (1615–1868), early 19th century
Freestanding (partitioning) screen; ink, color, gold, and silver on paper Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
This freestanding screen (tsuitate) demonstrates how Genji imagery was used on interior furnishings. Metal fittings bearing the Tokugawa family crests indicate that it likely formed part of a prestigious wedding dowry set. The painting shows Genji visiting his daughter, the Akashi Princess, who has received from her mother, the
Akashi Lady, gifts of New Year’s delicacies, seedling pines, and a poem in which she laments not hearing “the warbler’s first song.” Genji urges the Akashi Princess to respond to her mother, from whom she has been separated. While this screen does not have Kano Seisen’in Osanobu’s signature or seal, comparisons with signed works strongly suggest that it was either by him or an artist working directly under his supervision.
gallery 226 case 22, rotation 2, 2 copies
土佐光起筆 源氏物語図屛風 「初音」 「若菜上」
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691)
“First Song of Spring” (Hatsune) and “Early Spring Greens: Part 1” (Wakana jō)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper; silk fabric strips
Tokyo National Museum
Horizontal lines painted across the surface of this pair of folding screens and actual textiles applied to each panel imitate the green slats and fabric borders of bamboo blinds. The trompe-l’oeil effect turns the viewer into a voyeur who peers through the blinds into the luxurious rooms of Genji’s Rokujō estate. In the scene from
Chapter 23 (right), Genji visits the Akashi Lady’s quarters on New Year’s Day, finding her exquisite possessions and writings elegantly scattered around the room. The scene from Chapter 34 (left) shows
Tamakazura introducing Genji to her handsome sons. Paintings within paintings in both screens depict auspicious motifs: chrysanthemums, paired mandarin ducks, and cranes. Together with the narrative content, they convey an ideal image of domestic harmony, filial piety, and good fortune.
gallery 226 case 23, 2 copies
源氏物語図屛風・鳥屋図屏風
Nine Scenes from The Tale of Genji and An Aviary (Genji monogatari zu byōbu; Toriya zu byōbu)
Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Gift and Purchase from the Harry G. C. Packard Collection Charitable
Trust in honor of Dr. Shujiro Shimada; The Avery Brundage Collection (1991.65.1–.2)
On this unusual pair of screens, nine scenes from The Tale of Genji (Chapters 1, 14, 3, 28, 13, 22, 10, 46, and
40) are matched with a depiction of a life-size aviary, rare in the history of Japanese painting. The aviary’s relationship to Genji was perhaps general in nature, evoking the opulence of the Rokujō estate and its extensive waterways, implied by the structure’s waterside location and elaborate interior pond for the birds. One of its walls appears to be made of bamboo, rendered in gold, while the open front bears fine diagonal lines representing the netting of the cage. The birds include wild mallard ducks (kamo), mandarin ducks (oshidori), sparrows (suzume), the Japanese tit (shijūkara), longtail birds (onaga), quail (uzura), and turtledoves
(yamabato).
gallery 226 case 23, rotation 2, 2 copies
土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図屏風 「胡蝶」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“Butterflies” (Kochō)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th–early 17th century
Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.32)
This single screen, one of the finest examples of painting by Tosa Mitsuyoshi, encapsulates the imagined visual splendor of Genji’s Rokujō estate and conflates episodes from two different days in one composition. Ladies-in- waiting from the autumn quadrant of the Umetsubo Empress (Akikonomu) have arrived in Murasaki’s spring garden on a water bird boat on the upper left. The foreground scene takes place the next day, when page girls spectacularly costumed as paradisal kalavinka birds and butterflies of the court bugaku dance arrive at the autumn quadrant via dragon boat. The girls have been sent by Murasaki with flower offerings for the Empress’s sutra reading. The profusion of cherry blossoms throughout the screen illustrates the dominance of the spring season.
gallery 225, case 15, 2 copies
源氏物語図屏風 「帚木」
“Broom Cypress” (Hahakigi)
Momoyama period (1573–1615) Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
Private collection, Japan
This remarkable screen depicts a story within a story told to a seventeen-year-old Genji one rainy night. The cautionary tale describes a brazen woman who flaunted her skills on the koto, demonstrating that in some cases a woman can be too alluring.
A spectacular koto stands in for the seductive woman. Notice its details: the wood grain, the thirteen bridges with notched tops to secure the gold strings, the motifs of sandbars and flying geese that suggest inlaid mother- of-pearl. The sliding doors of the room might allude to a folk song mentioned in the anecdote. Bordered by colorful brocade and fitted with paulownia-crest door handles, they bear paintings of rice planting in watery fields as well as figures pouring sake and singing songs for a rich harvest.
gallery 224, case 15, 2 copies
源氏物語図屏風
Fifty-Four Scenes from The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari zu byōbu)
Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.37.1, .2)
Iconic scenes from Genji’s fifty-four chapters are depicted in sequence, moving from right to left and top to bottom, across two screens. The composition transcends shifts in time, seasons, and settings to present a unified arrangement. The yamato-e convention of “blown-off roofs” (fukinuki yatai) allows for views into architectural interiors. Observers familiar with the tale and its iconography can enjoy the challenge of identifying characters, episodes, and plot points. The screens were no doubt the work of a painter trained in the Kano school and at least one assistant; miniature painted screens within interiors, mostly ink landscapes, betray a Kano hand from around the time of Kano Yasunobu (1613–1685) and his followers.
gallery 225, case 18, rotation 3
源氏物語絵扇面散屏風
Fan Paintings of The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari-e senmen chirashi byōbu)
Muromachi period (1392–1573), late 15th–early 16th century Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Jōdoji Temple, Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture
Sixty Genji fans are superimposed over the painting of a kudzu vine that trails across all twelve panels of this pair of screens. The background painting, likely made independently of the fans, features a variety of leaf clusters and animated tendrils. Each “blossom” presents a single scene and a prose or poem excerpt from the tale. The arrangement of the fans does not follow chapter sequence but rather aligns with the cycle of the four seasons, with some chapters represented by more than one fan, while others are not included at all. A consistent painting style suggests production by a single studio, most likely in the late fifteenth century, making this one of the oldest cycles of Genji images.
gallery 225, case 18
白絖地草紙文字模様小袖
Robe (Kosode) with Volumes of The Tale of Genji and a Chinese Verse from Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing (Wakan rōeishū)
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century
White silk satin with tie-dyeing, silk-thread embroidery, and gold-thread couching
National Museum of Japanese History, Sakura, Chiba Prefecture
This kosode (robe with small sleeve openings) has images of The Tale of Genji chapter books. It is one of the few surviving examples of a garment made for women in white satin, as this material was typically reserved for
Noh costumes. In the Edo period, books were often represented on garments as auspicious motifs symbolizing knowledge and wisdom. The robe’s surface is further decorated with scattered embroidered characters that form a Chinese verse of about 1013 from Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing.
The plum blossoms at Dayu Ridge have already fallen; who comes to ask of their powdered makeup?
And the apricot blossoms of Mount Kuanglu have not yet opened; why should anyone hasten to their red elegance?
—Translation adapted from J. Thomas Rimer and Jonathan Chaves
gallery 231 case 42
白絖地楓竹矢来文字模様振袖
Robe (Furisode) with Maple Tree, Bamboo Fence, and Characters from “Little Purple Gromwell”
(Wakamurasaki)
Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th century
White silk satin with silk-thread embroidery and gold-thread couching
Tokyo National Museum
This long-sleeved robe (furisode) of white satin, a material usually reserved for Noh costumes, is quite rare. A maple tree embroidered in vivid colors spreads across the upper half of the robe, and a bamboo fence in green with gold accents decorates the lower half. Two strikingly large characters that read wakamurasaki 若紫 refer to the name of the heroine and the title of Chapter 5, usually symbolized by blossoming cherry trees. The maple tree depicted here, however, may connote the autumn season, when Genji brings young Murasaki to his residence, and the maple and the bamboo are both auspicious symbols of longevity. A design nearly identical to this one appears in a woodblock-printed textile pattern book (hinagata-bon) dating to 1697.
gallery 226, case 20
黒塗二葉葵唐草葵牡丹紋散蒔絵女乗物 Bridal Palanquin (Onna norimono) with Arabesque Foliage, Wild Ginger Leaves, and Family Crests
(Owned by Princess Atsu-hime)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1856
Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e; gilt and silvered copper fittings; interior paintings: ink, color, and gold on paper; blinds: bamboo and silk; window screens: silk
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Museum purchase, Smithsonian
Collections Acquisition Fund (S85.0001)
This bridal palanquin was commissioned in 1856 to transport Atsu-hime (1836–1883), wife of the thirteenth
Tokugawa shogun, Iesada. On the exterior is hiramaki-e arabesque foliage, the Tokugawa family crest consisting of three wild ginger leaves, and the flowering-peony crest of the Konoe family. The long beam would have been carried by six men as the princess made her way to the groom’s residence. The inside features a scene from Chapter 23 of The Tale of Genji, “First Song of Spring” (Hatsune) and two scenes from Chapter 24,
“Butterflies” (Kochō), and the rear panel bears an image of the mythical paradisal island of Mount Hōrai. These views celebrated marriage, conveyed happiness, and carried auspicious meaning. They were also associated with ideal womanhood and suitable female conduct.
gallery 231, case 42
松竹桜紋散蒔絵黒棚
Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kuro-dana) with Pine, Bamboo, Cherry Blossoms, and Crests of the
Matsudaira and Shimazu Families
Edo period (1615–1868), early 19th century Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, and cutout gold- and silver-foil application on gold nashiji (“pear-skin”) ground
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, John and Pauline Gandel Gift, 2015 Benefit Fund,
Brooke Russell Astor Bequest and Acquisitions Fund, 2016 (2016.167) This display shelf was created as one of the centerpieces of a wedding trousseau that probably included more than fifty lacquer accessories and pieces of furniture, thirty-one of which were acquired by The Met in 1910. It was commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Princess Taka (1809–1862), from the wealthy and influential
Shimazu clan, and a son of the Matsudaira clan, which ruled over the Kuwana domain of Ise province (present- day Mie prefecture). The two family crests on the piece—the cross shape of the Shimazu and the stylized plum flower of the Matsudaira—symbolize the union. The shelves, decorated with an unusual combination of auspicious symbols (pine, bamboo, and cherry blossoms), held mainly cosmetic boxes, including the utensils for tooth blackening (haguro), a custom of high-ranking women after their weddings.
gallery 231, case 43
紅地貝桶桔梗松皮菱模様唐織
Noh Costume (Karaori) with Shell-Matching Game Boxes and Shells
Meiji period (1868–1912), second half 19th century
Twill-weave silk ground with discontinuous supplementary-weft patterning in silk and gilt-paper strips
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection (21.1149)
This Noh theater robe (karaori) was designed for a female role. Its impressive composition features painted shells and shell-matching game lacquer boxes that had an important role in both the Edo-period wedding ceremony and the bridal trousseau. Each shell has matching halves that fit together to symbolize a perfect married couple in a happy and successful union. This game is not featured in The Tale of Genji; it was developed later. Both the shells and their storage boxes came to be embellished with Genji scenes in the Edo period. As auspicious symbols, the shell-matching boxes were popular design elements on kosode robes; however, they rarely appeared on Edo-period Noh costumes. Here, the lacquer boxes are decorated with pine branches, a symbol of longevity, and balloon flowers.
gallery 227, case 28
白綸子地几帳模様打掛
Over Robe (Uchikake) with Curtain of State Design
Edo period (1615–1868), early 19th century
Figured silk damask with paste resist-dyeing, tie-dyeing, silk-thread embroidery, and gold-thread couching
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, William Sturgis Bigelow Collection (11.3860)
This elegant over robe (uchikake, a garment worn over a kimono without an obi sash) was probably made for the wedding of a wealthy merchant-class woman. It has a red crepe silk lining, a padded hem, and long sleeves appropriate for a young lady. The white, figured silk damask has a woven pattern of mandarin oranges, an auspicious symbol of longevity, and is embellished with so-called curtains of state (kichō), which also bear auspicious symbols. These portable curtains, featured frequently in The Tale of Genji, provided privacy for aristocratic women, who were not supposed to be seen. Wedding uchikake were often made in sets of three, including white, red, and black garments. The red robe from this set is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the black one is lost.
gallery 227, case 24
白地檜扇夕顔模様唐織
Noh Costume (Karaori) with Cypress Fans and Moonflower (Yūgao) Blossoms
Edo period (1615–1868), late 18th–early 19th century
Twill-weave silk with brocading in silk and supplementary-weft patterning in silk and metallic thread
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Dorothy F. Rolph, in memory of her sister, Helen L.
Beloussoff, 1961 (61.151.6) The pattern of a moonflower lying on an open cypress fan evokes Chapter 4 of The Tale of Genji, “The Lady of the Evening Faces” (Yūgao), and Genji’s tragic love affair with the woman known as Yūgao. She comes to
Genji’s attention when he notices moonflowers, literally “evening faces” (yūgao), growing on the vine outside her humble abode—the same motif Ogata Kenzan depicted on his tea bowl displayed nearby. Seeing Genji’s carriage, the lady sends out a spray of the white flowers on a fan inscribed with a poem. During a subsequent tryst, Genji takes her to an abandoned mansion, where she is killed by the jealous spirit of Genji’s neglected lover, Lady Rokujō. The episode inspired a Noh play titled Yūgao, attributed to Zeami (ca. 1364–ca. 1443).
gallery 226, case 20
紅地御所車桜蒲公英模様唐織
Noh Costume (Karaori) with Court Carriages, Cherry Blossoms, and Dandelions
Edo period (1615–1868), late 18th–first half 19th century
Twill-weave silk brocaded with supplementary-weft patterning in metallic thread
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Howard Mansfield Collection, Gift of Howard Mansfield,
1936 (36.120.689)
This Noh costume has unusually large motifs of courtly ox carriages (gosho-guruma), dandelions, and cherry blossoms partially covered by the opaque gold clouds typical of Genji paintings. In the “Battle of the Carriages” episode in Chapter 9, “Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi), Lady Rokujō, feeling neglected by her lover Genji, goes to watch him participate in the procession of the Kamo Festival, but the grooms of Genji’s wife, Lady Aoi, force her carriage aside. The carriages seen here follow the festival tradition of using the heart-shaped leaves of the wild ginger plant (aoi) sacred to the Kamo Shrine as adornment. The “Battle of the Carriages” is also referenced in the Noh play Lady Aoi (Aoi no Ue) by Zeami (ca. 1364–ca. 1443).
gallery 224, case 6
装剣金工 後藤程乗作 紋散象嵌箏
Metalwork by Gotō Teijō (1603–1673)
Koto
Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century
Wood, ivory and tortoiseshell inlays, gold and silver inlays, metalwork, cloth, lacquer, and paper; case: lacquered wood with gold hiramaki-e
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Amati Gifts, 2007 (2007.194a–f)
Heian-period courtly refinement included performing and appreciating music, particularly that of the koto, a type of zither derived from the Chinese zheng. The Tale of Genji mentions three types of koto, the sō no koto with thirteen strings (similar to this example), the kin no koto with seven strings, and the Japanese six-string wagon. Most characters in the tale are gifted musicians, and music is often used to convey attraction, friendship, guilt, or sadness. The koto on display here, with its copious inlay and remarkable metalwork by Gotō Teijō, perhaps the most skilled member of the well-known Gotō family of metalwork artists, was an instrument of great prestige in Edo-period Japan. The daimyo Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1646) is said to have presented this koto to Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (1579–1638) in gratitude for the rescue of his father.
gallery 224, case 8
根来塗燭台 一対
Pair of Negoro Lacquer Candlesticks
Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th century
Wood with black and red lacquer (Negoro ware)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.2.18a, b) Negoro ware, associated with the Negoro Temple in Wakayama prefecture, is characterized by a strong wooden core, a highly functional form, and the layered application of black and red lacquer. In the medieval period,
Negoro utensils and vessels were used primarily by monks residing in Buddhist monasteries and priests of
Shinto shrines, as well as by aristocrats and high-ranking warriors.
Candlesticks are rare among Negoro lacquers. These were probably originally placed before a Buddhist altar.
The powerful curves of the base and the bamboo motif of the stem were formed on a lathe. Over years of use, the top layer of red lacquer has worn off, and the underlying black has become visible.
gallery 227, case 28
楼閣山水鴨蒔絵文台
Writing Desk (Bundai) with Landscape and Geese
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e, cutout gold- and silver-foil application
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.2.22)
Lacquer writing desks were usually created in sets with boxes (suzuribako) to hold paper and writing implements. The earliest forms of the low table are documented in medieval handscroll paintings; most are undecorated and have shorter legs. The size and shape of the writing table became standardized in the
Muromachi period (1392–1573) and remained unchanged through the Edo period, as seen in paintings representing Murasaki Shikibu at her desk composing The Tale of Genji. This desk, prepared in homage to earlier examples, has a landscape with a waterfall and geese among waves. The maki-e decoration covers only a small portion of the writing surface, in keeping with the desk’s function. The style of the sparse decoration recalls Japanese appreciation of Chinese ink paintings introduced by Zen monasteries.
gallery 227, case 29, 2 copies
御所解源氏物語模様帷子
Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji
Edo period (1615–1868), second half 18th century
Plain-weave ramie with paste resist-dyeing, silk-thread embroidery, and gold-thread couching
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2018 (2018.637)
This robe exemplifies the exquisitely embroidered and dyed robes made in the late Edo period for high-ranking samurai ladies, especially in daimyo households. They came to be referred to as “imperial court style” garments, as the landscapes and seasonal plants combine with motifs referencing Noh plays, poems, or classical literature such as The Tale of Genji to evoke aristocratic life in the Heian period. The motifs consist of pines, plum and cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, maple leaves, reeds, clouds, rocks, and streams. The stylized landscapes include spring patterns, a half-moon, and autumn flowers. The scene showing the Nonomiya shrine on the back of the right sleeve is from Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreens.” On the right of the lower section, the depiction of the koto refers to the best-known scene of Chapter 2, “Broom Cypress”—the so-called “appraisal of women on a rainy night” episode.
gallery ?, rotation 1, 2 copies
土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図屏風 「御幸」 「浮舟」 「関屋」
Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613)
“An Imperial Excursion” (Miyuki), “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune), and “The Barrier Gate” (Sekiya)
Momoyama period (1573–1615)
Painted sliding doors (fusuma-e) remounted as a pair of four-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund, 1955 (55.94.1, .2)
Originally mounted on sliding-door panels, these screens once formed two walls of a Genji room. They demonstrate how Genji paintings, with their origins in small formats, were transformed into panoramic architectural programs, here depicting three outdoor scenes within a unified, expansive landscape. The dynamic composition and lavish use of gold epitomize the spectacular large-scale works commonly associated with
Momoyama painting, while Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s fine craftsmanship and decorative tendencies are evident in the elaborate gold clouds, some of which contain the small squares of gold foil and gold dust characteristic of his miniature works. On the right is a falconry expedition by Emperor Reizei in Oharano. In the lower left corner is the famous scene of Ukifune and Niou traversing the Uji River in a boat.
gallery 230, case 38
俵屋宗達筆 源氏物語関屋・澪標図屏風
Tawaraya Sōtatsu (ca. 1570–ca. 1640)
“Channel Markers” (Miotsukushi) and “The Barrier Gate” (Sekiya)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1631 Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo
National Treasure
This pair of screens has long been considered a masterpiece within the history of Japanese art. Most notably, they reveal an artist freely reinterpreting the tradition of Genji painting, not merely by adapting miniature-style painting to large-format screens but also by transforming the visual language of Genji illustration through simplification, clear-cut geometry, and an emphasis on materiality. Each episode represents a chance encounter between Genji and a former lover, and both scenes employ gates related to travel and pilgrimage, which perhaps led to their pairing here. Recent research shows that the screens were made in 1631; as one of only two securely dated works by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, they are crucial for understanding the artist’s still relatively enigmatic biography.
gallery 227, case 38
佐多芳郎筆 「浮舟」
Sata Yoshirō (1922–1997)
“A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1966
Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold on paper
Osaragi Jiro Memorial Museum, Yokohama
Sata Yoshirō’s long engagement with copying sections of the National Treasure Genji Scrolls no doubt inspired him to create this screen of Chapter 51, “A Boat Cast Adrift.” The most common depiction of this episode, established by the seventeenth century, shows Ukifune and Niou in a boat on the Uji River, near a small island in the snow. Sata eliminates the landscape details and focuses on the couple drifting with the current under the reflection of the moon. The Uji River is shown in white, its current captured with ink lines, and the figures glow under the golden moonlight. Close examination of Ukifune’s striking long hair reveals the subtle yet effective accents of ultramarine mineral pigment in the black ink.
gallery 227, case 24, 2 copies
土佐光起筆 謡曲五十番 「葵の上」
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691)
Lady Aoi, from Fifty Noh Plays, Illustrated (Yōkyoku gojū-ban, Aoi no Ue)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century Sixth of a ten-volume set of thread-bound books; ink and color on gold- decorated paper
Harvard Art Museums / Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia
(1985.586.8)
Lady Rokujō’s wandering spirit is featured in the play Lady Aoi, named for her victim, Genji’s wife. In this deluxe edition of the libretto (utaibon), paintings of two scenes provide a glimpse of what audiences saw on the early modern stage. A folded robe lying on the stage represents the ailing Aoi during the entire play, as Lady
Rokujō seeks retribution for her humiliation at the “Battle of the Carriages.” At the climax, Rokujō’s vengeful spirit in a horned hannya demon mask battles a holy man called to subdue her. As drums and a flute play at a frenzied tempo, the spirit fights against the exorcism and attacks with a long wand, until the Buddhist incantations prove too powerful and she acknowledges defeat.
gallery 227, case 26, rotation 2, 2 copies
車争図屏風
Battle of the Carriages (Kuruma arasoi-zu byōbu)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Kyoto City Library of Historical Documents
The “Battle of the Carriages” occurs in Chapter 9, when Lady Rokujō attempts to glimpse her former lover
Genji amid a grand procession for the new Kamo Priestess. Genji appears in all his finery on the right screen, in procession on horseback with a page in attendance. The left screen shows the altercation, which occurs when the attendants of Genji’s wife, Aoi, displace Rokujō’s carriage, blocking her view and breaking her vehicle’s pedestal. Rokujō’s deep humiliation leads her vengeful spirit to attack Aoi just after she has given birth to
Genji’s son Yūgiri. These screens closely follow the composition of a famous pair commissioned by Emperor
Ōgimachi in 1560, which represent the earliest example of a single Genji episode depicted at such a monumental scale.
gallery 230, case 39, 2 copies
源氏物語図屛風 「須磨」 「浮舟」
“Exile to Suma” (Suma) and “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), 16th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Imabari City Kono Museum of Art, Ehime Prefecture
In a scene from Chapter 12 on the right screen, Genji stands out against the muted palette of a desolate seascape at Suma, surrounded by a spring garden of cherry blossoms, peonies, camellias, and azaleas. The scene from
Chapter 51, “A Boat Cast Adrift,” on the left screen takes place at Uji and shows Genji’s grandson, Prince Niou, in pursuit of Ukifune. The painting places unusual emphasis on the watchman on a veranda plucking his bow, with three dogs charging out from the property. Both screens feature a courtly protagonist who is conspicuously out of place in rural surroundings. An inscription attributes them to Tosa Mitsunobu, but they are more likely by an artist working in the style of Tosa Mitsumoto.
gallery information not provided
『宇治の宮の姫君たち』 松岡映丘筆
Matsuoka Eikyū (1881–1938)
The Uji Princesses (Uji no Miya no himegimi-tachi)
Taishō period (1912–26), 1912 Pair of six-panel folding screens; color on silk
Himeji City Museum of Art, Hyōgo Prefecture Matsuoka Eikyū depicts these scenes from Genji with arresting clarity, on a monumental scale suitable for the new modern venue of the public art exhibition. Eikyū based the screen at right on a painting from the twelfth- century Genji Scrolls in which Kaoru glimpses the Princesses at Uji. As if to capture Kaoru’s introspective nature, the artist removes him from the role of voyeur, placing him on the veranda of the Uji villa, where he appears to prefer the moon (on the screen at left) to the women inside. The subject matter of the left screen is unclear, but the regal-looking courtier in luminous white robes likely represents Genji, shown amid falling cherry blossoms, visiting the residence of his late wife Aoi before he departs for Suma.
gallery 230 case 41
文使い図屏風
Messenger Delivering a Letter
Edo period (1615–1868), second quarter 17th century
Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold on paper
Princeton University Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds given by William R. McAlpin, Class of 1926
(y1964–50)
Deluxe genre paintings of this variety, dating to the early 1600s and showing courtesans of the Kyoto pleasure quarter at Shimabara, represent the first stage in the development of ukiyo-e painting and woodblock prints and illustrated books that became popular by the later seventeenth century. Here, a high-ranking courtesan with an elaborate coiffure and impressive raiment leans on an ornate armrest, as a young woman in the foreground receives what is likely a love letter. The inclusion of a small Genji painting on the sliding door is suggestive. It depicts the famous scene from Chapter 51, “A Boat Cast Adrift,” that shows Ukifune and her lover Niou in a skiff on the Uji River, perhaps implying similar romantic entanglements for these elegant women of the pleasure quarters.
gallery 225, case 16
源氏物語図屛風 「若紫」
“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, University of Indiana, Bloomington (66.11)
This scene from Chapter 5 introduces young Murasaki, who Genji glimpses from behind a brushwood fence.
She stands near her grandmother, a nun with short hair seated in front of a painting of bamboo, watching attendants chase after Murasaki’s escaped pet sparrow. A second image of Genji, resting in the building near the top of the painting, shows him looking forlorn, as if contemplating the recent death of his lover Yūgao, or his affair with his father’s consort Fujitsubo, whose pregnancy is revealed in this chapter. Likely painted by a
Kano-school artist, this painting captures the vibrant landscape of the northern hills with rugged boulders, mountain cherry trees in bloom, and a rushing waterfall.
gallery 225 case 16
源氏物語図屛風 「浮舟」
“A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune)
Edo period (1615–1868), 17th century
One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, University of Indiana, Bloomington (66.12)
This scene from Chapter 51 shows Niou at Uji, where Ukifune has been hidden away by Niou’s rival, Kaoru.
Attendants work by lamplight, sewing and cutting fabric to prepare Ukifune’s garments for the next day’s pilgrimage to Ishiyamadera. Ukifune sits between a folding screen and a standing curtain, and in the tale, Niou is said to notice her long hair and her aura of nobility. As the daughter of the Eighth Prince (Hachinomiya) she is of royal lineage, but for now, Niou simply marvels at her resemblance to his wife, Nakanokimi, unaware that they are half sisters. Later, Ukifune will consider casting herself into the Uji River to escape the dilemma of being both in love with her sister’s husband and sought after by Kaoru.
gallery 228, case 33
須磨図屏風
Genji in Exile at Suma (Suma zu byōbu)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th century
Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and silver on paper
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
A solitary Genji gazes out toward the sea during his exile at Suma. The thatched roof, pine-tree columns, and stone steps convey the rustic quality of his seaside abode, while blossoming cherry trees and the koto by his side connote the elegance of the capital he left behind. Outside, a solitary figure in a raincoat, likely a messenger sent by Murasaki, walks in Genji’s direction; the diagonal shoreline and surging waves create a dynamic connection between the two men. This screen represents a development in which artists depicted episodes from the tale in large-scale ink landscapes, blending Chinese-style painting (kanga) with the gold clouds and gold wash of yamato-e to create a new style.
gallery 226, case 19, 2 copies
黒塗二葉葵唐草葵牡丹紋散蒔絵女乗物
Bridal Palanquin (Onna norimono) with Arabesque Foliage, Wild Ginger Leaves, and Family Crests (Owned by Princess Atsu-hime)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1856 Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e; fittings: gilt and silvered copper; interior paintings: ink, color, and gold on paper; blinds: bamboo and silk; window screens: silk
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Museum purchase, Smithsonian
Collections Acquisition Fund (S85.0001)
This bridal palanquin was commissioned in 1856 to transport Atsu-hime (1836–1883), wife of the thirteenth
Tokugawa shogun. The long beam would have been carried by six men as the princess made her way to the groom’s residence. On the exterior is the Tokugawa family crest, consisting of three wild ginger leaves, and the flowering-peony crest of the Konoe family. The interior is adorned with a scene from Chapter 23 and two scenes from Chapter 24, and the rear panel bears an image of the mythical Mount Hōrai. These Genji scenes celebrated marriage, conveyed happiness, and carried auspicious meaning, and were also associated with ideal womanhood and proper behavior.
gallery 226, case 19, 2 copies captions:
Front: Genji and Lady Murasaki as the ideal couple, from Chapter 23, “First Song of Spring” (Hatsune)
Left: Phoenix boat on the lake at Genji’s Rokujō estate, from Chapter 24, “Butterflies” (Kochō)
Right: Young girls dressed as butterflies perform a bugaku dance, from Chapter 24, “Butterflies” (Kochō)
黒塗二葉葵唐草葵牡丹紋散蒔絵女乗物
Bridal Palanquin (Onna norimono) with Arabesque Foliage, Wild Ginger Leaves, and Family Crests
(Owned by Princess Atsu-hime)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1856 Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e; fittings: gilt and silvered copper; interior paintings: ink, color, and gold on paper; blinds: bamboo and silk; window screens: silk Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Museum purchase, Smithsonian
Collections Acquisition Fund (S85.0001)
This bridal palanquin was commissioned in 1856 to transport Atsu-hime (1836–1883), wife of the thirteenth
Tokugawa shogun. The long beam would have been carried by six men as the princess made her way to the groom’s residence. On the exterior is the Tokugawa family crest, consisting of three wild ginger leaves, and the flowering-peony crest of the Konoe family. The interior is adorned with a scene from Chapter 23 and two scenes from Chapter 24, and the rear panel bears an image of the mythical Mount Hōrai. These Genji scenes celebrated marriage, conveyed happiness, and carried auspicious meaning, and were also associated with ideal womanhood and proper behavior.
Captions:
Front: Genji and Lady Murasaki as the ideal couple, from Chapter 23, “First Song of Spring” (Hatsune)
Left: Phoenix boat on the lake at Genji’s Rokujō estate, from Chapter 24, “Butterflies” (Kochō)
Right: Young girls dressed as butterflies perform a bugaku dance, from Chapter 24, “Butterflies” (Kochō) caption for 2 images:
From the interior of the book: Genji’s beloved, Murasaki, from Chapter 23, “First Song of Spring” (Hatsune)
(left); Kashiwagi caressing the Third Princess’s cat, its fur permeated with her scent, from Chapter 35, “Early
Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge) (right)
Wall labels
gallery 224 case D
一字蓮台法華経 「普賢菩薩勧発品」
Lotus Sutra with Each Character on a Lotus, Chapter 28 (Ichiji rendai Hokekyō, Fugen Bosatsu kanbotsu-hon)
Heian period (794–1185), 12th century
Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara National Treasure
This precious Heian-period Lotus Sutra places every character of the sutra atop its own lotus flower pedestal surrounded by delicately drawn circles of gold ink, as if each sacred word were a Buddha icon with a radiant mandorla. By the late twelfth century, elite patrons were creating a new kind of Genji Lotus Sutra. In this type, frontispieces combined poems and pictorial motifs from the tale with the content of the sutra, ritually dedicated to save Murasaki Shikibu and her readers from the sin of succumbing to seductive fictions. This scroll’s unique frontispiece painting, depicting a group of Buddhist priests officiating at a ceremony on behalf of the aristocratic men and women shown on the veranda, could be one example of a Genji sutra.
print room summary, 2 copies, wallpaper
歌川國芳画 「源氏雲浮世画合」
Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase) by Utagawa
Kuniyoshi (1797–1861)
In 1845–46, Kuniyoshi designed a series of sixty prints, Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e
Pictures, six examples of which are arrayed on this wall. Each image is paired with a chapter from The Tale of Genji through small insets at the top showing a handscroll with the series name, the title of the corresponding
Genji chapter, a poetic excerpt, and stamped crests called Genji-mon.
The prints do not depict Genji scenes but rather characters—sometimes actors—from Kabuki plays, classical
Japanese literature, history, or legend. The subtle association with Genji chapters, however, imbues this striking popular imagery with new layers of meaning for those familiar with the tale. Each image also bears the artist’s printed signature, “Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga,” his red paulownia seal, and the censor’s seal.
gallery 223, Vitrine C
近衛信尹書 『和漢朗詠集』 色紙帖
Calligraphy by Konoe Nobutada (1565–1614)
Album of Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing (Wakan rōeishū shikishijō)
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century
From an album of thirty-six leaves; calligraphy on decorated paper; ink, gold, and silver on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney
Cowles, 2018 (2018.853.38a)
Konoe Nobutada, a courtier-calligrapher famed for his bold, expressive, and idiosyncratic handwriting, inscribed the decorated poetry sheets (shikishi) for an album comprising selections from Japanese and Chinese
Poems to Sing, compiled about 1013 by the courtier-poet Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041). This was surely one of the most widely studied and cited poetry anthologies available around the time Murasaki Shikibu was crafting her complex tale, which is interwoven with 795 waka (thirty-one-syllable verses) and countless allusions to
Chinese poems.
Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing is composed of 588 Chinese couplets and 216 accompanying waka, interspersed with each other as if to draw out resonances in poetic imagery and style.
gallery 230, Vitrine K
月岡芳年筆 「月百姿 源氏夕顔巻」
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892)
The Spirit of the Deceased Yūgao Entwined in Moonflower Vines, based on the print “The Lady of the
Evening Faces,” from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyakushi: Genji Yūgao no maki)
Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1892
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2019 (2019.40)
As witnessed in works by other late Edo-period artists like Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), a fascination with memorializing scenes from Japanese literature that capture elements of the supernatural and macabre flourished in the late 1800s. Though Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was a pupil of Kuniyoshi, he was influenced by the modernization of Japan and modern media, and sometimes produced violent and disturbing images. Ultimately, however, he became nostalgic for the disappearing traditional culture and ukiyo-e style. In this painting, the semitransparent spirit of the deceased Yūgao is wraithlike and blue-lipped in the moonlight, with “evening faces” moonflower vines encircling her.
gallery 231, vitrine N
月岡芳年筆 「月百姿 石山の月」
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892)
Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyamadera Temple, based on the print “The Moon at Ishiyama,” from the series
One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyakushi: Ishiyama no tsuki)
Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1892 Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Ryo Toyonaga and Alvin E. Friedman-Kien Gift, 2019
(2019.41)
To create the compendium of one hundred images of famous moonlit scenes that inspired his print series,
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi combed literature and legend for inspiration. The scene of Murasaki at her desk, about to begin writing her monumental tale, was an obvious choice, having been depicted by artists of every school. His painted rendition of the setting, however, diverges from the usual one. Rather than show a view of Lake Biwa, he depicted the outcrops of wollastonite stone surrounding Ishiyamadera (Stony Mountain Temple). From the main hall of the temple, there actually is no direct vista of the lake or vantage point with such craggy features, but the references are clear.
Gallery 223, Vitrine A, 2 copies
石山寺蒔絵源氏箪笥
Book Cabinet (Tansu) for The Tale of Genji with Ishiyamadera Temple Design
Edo period (1615–1868), 18th century Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashimaki-e, and cutout gold-foil application on nashiji (“pear-skin”) ground; gilt-bronze fittings
Tokyo National Museum
This portable book cabinet was designed to house a set of the fifty-four volumes of The Tale of Genji, now lost.
Its structure is quite unusual, as it opens in the middle, the two halves secured at the back with two butterfly- shaped hinges. Each half contains three drawers, the fronts of which are inscribed with the titles of the volumes that belonged within. The outside of the cabinet is decorated with a landscape of the surroundings of
Ishiyamadera and the Seta River area in relief takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with additional cutout gold-foil details. As Ishiyamadera was well known as the place where Murasaki Shikibu wrote Genji, it was an appropriate choice of decoration for the book cabinet.
gallery 227, vitrine H, 2 copies
尾形乾山作 色絵夕顔図黒茶碗
Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743)
Teabowl with Moonflower (Yūgao) and Poem
Edo period (1615–1868), first half 18th century
Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels
The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara
Combining poetry, painting, calligraphy, and pottery, Ogata Kenzan achieved an innovative style with a potent visual effect. Against a black background that suggests a nocturnal scene, white flowers and deep green leaves glisten. As the name “moonflower” suggests, these blossoms open only briefly at night. The flower refers to the mysterious Lady Yūgao, featured in Chapter 4, “The Lady of the Evening Faces” (Yūgao), and symbolizes her fleeting life, cut short at the hands of Lady Rokujō’s jealous spirit. The waka inscribed on the teabowl reads:
Yorite dani Upon approaching
Tsuyu no hikari ya In the glistening dew;
Ika ni tomo How unexpected,
Omoi mo wakanu The blossoming
Hana no yūgao Of the evening face.
—Translation by Richard Wilson
gallery 227, vitrine H, rotation 2, 2 copies
藤松蒔絵鏡台 Mirror Stand (Kyōdai) with Wisteria and Pine
Edo period (1615–1868), second half 18th century
Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, e-nashiji; gilt-copper fittings; bronze mirror with handle; cast and incised decoration
John C. Weber Collection
Complex mirror stands designed to combine a cosmetic box and mirror were produced starting in the
Muromachi period (1392–1573). This one features auspicious wisteria flowers and pine trees, symbols of longevity and the Fujiwara family. Mirrors are prominently mentioned in Chapter 12, “Exile to Suma” (Suma), in which Genji prepares to leave for exile. Gazing in the mirror, he tells Murasaki that she should console herself with the image of his face, which will remain in the mirror:
Mi wa kakute Though in this fashion
Sasuraenu to mo Have been exiled flesh and blood,
Kimi ga atari My shadow-image
Saranu kagami no In the mirror at your side
Kage wa hanareji Shall never depart where you dwell.
—Translation by Edwin A. Cranston
gallery 223, vitrine C
近衛信尹書 源氏物語抄
Konoe Nobutada (1565–1614)
Calligraphic Excerpts from The Tale of Genji
Momoyama period (1573–1615), early 17th century
Folded album (orihon); ink on decorated paper
Tokyo National Museum
In this folded album, prose excerpts from Chapter 39, “Evening Mist” (Yūgiri), are inscribed across a gorgeous abstract landscape. The decoration of the paper in gold and silver paint highlighted with flecks of gold creates a radiant effect that recalls the luxurious treatments used for deluxe manuscripts in the Heian period. As a high- ranking courtier, who even served as regent (kanpaku) to Emperor Go-Yōzei, Konoe Nobutada had access to such sumptuous embellished papers. His calligraphy attests to both his mastery of courtly styles and his innovative, muscular aesthetic. Nobutada wrote each character firmly yet gave the columns an elegant, rhythmic flow. The clusters of kana connected by ligatures lend an overall coherence to the composition, even while the unconnected characters stand out.
gallery 228, wall case 1
岩佐又兵衛筆 和漢故事説話図 「浮舟」
Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650)
“A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), first half 17th century
Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Fukui Fine Arts Museum
The painting shown here was inspired by the memorable episode from Chapter 51, “A Boat Cast Adrift,” in which on a snowy day, Niou secretly brings Ukifune to a secluded mansion on the Uji River. On the way, he swears his unchanging love, comparing it with the evergreen mandarin orange tree (Citrus tachibana) growing on a small island in the river. This work was originally part of a handscroll with twelve paintings treating subjects from ancient Chinese and Japanese legend and literature, three with Japanese themes that depict poignant episodes from Genji. Iwasa Matabei no doubt chose the scenes because they incorporate a dimension of psychological suggestiveness, which became a trademark of his distinctive painting style.
gallery 228, wall case 1, rotation 2
岩佐又兵衛筆 和漢故事説話図 「夕霧」
Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650)
“Evening Mist” (Yūgiri), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), first half 17th century Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Fukui Fine Arts Museum
The painting shown here was inspired by the episode in which Yūgiri tries to visit his beloved Ochiba no Miya at a mountain cottage in Ono, at the western foot of Mount Hiei. He declares his love for her through the night, but she continues to refuse him entry. The empty space separating Yūgiri on the right side of the composition seems to suggest the loneliness of unrequited love. This work was originally part of a handscroll with twelve paintings treating subjects from ancient Chinese and Japanese legend and literature, three with Japanese themes that depict poignant episodes from Genji. Iwasa Matabei no doubt chose these scenes because they incorporate a dimension of psychological suggestiveness, which became a trademark of his distinctive painting style.
gallery 228, wall case 1, rotation 2
岩佐又兵衛筆 和漢故事説話図 「須磨」
Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650)
“Exile to Suma” (Suma), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Edo period (1615–1868), first half 17th century
Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Fukui Fine Arts Museum This painting, inspired by a scene from Chapter 12, “Exile to Suma,” illustrates the moment when Genji seeks shelter from a violent thunderstorm. The trembling of the grasses and the fence echoes Genji’s state of anxiety in this desolate locale. This work was originally part of a handscroll consisting of twelve paintings treating subjects from ancient Chinese and Japanese legend and literature. Among the works with Japanese themes were three representing episodes from The Tale of Genji. Iwasa Matabei no doubt chose to depict these three poignant scenes from the tale’s vast iconography because they allowed him to incorporate a dimension of psychological suggestiveness, which became a trademark of his distinctive painting style.
gallery 223 case 1a, rotation 2
土佐光則筆 源氏物語画帖
Tosa Mitsunori (1583–1638)
Album of scenes from The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari gajō)
Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century
Two albums of thirty leaves; ink, red pigment, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation (2015.300.34a, b)
A miniaturized version of ink-line (hakubyō) painting emerged during the Momoyama and early Edo periods, marking a turn in monochromatic depictions of The Tale of Genji. This genre is best represented by the virtuosic work of Tosa Mitsunori. Like polychrome examples of Genji painting, these albums contain one or more scenes for each chapter. They present a new, polished manner of monochrome painting that renders original compositions at a dramatically reduced scale with rich detail that rewards close inspection.
In this scene from Chapter 20, “Bellflowers” (Asagao), Asagao reads a letter from Genji, whose advances she has rejected more than once. Gold pigment is used to highlight the rim of Asagao’s writing box and to simulate the sprinkled gold of maki-e lacquer.
gallery 223, case 1a
土佐光則筆 源氏物語画帖
Tosa Mitsunori (1583–1638)
Album of scenes from The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari gajō)
Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century
Two albums of thirty leaves; ink, red pigment, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson
Burke Foundation (2015.300.34a, b)
A miniaturized version of ink-line (hakubyō) painting emerged during the Momoyama and early Edo periods, marking a turn in monochromatic depictions of The Tale of Genji. This genre is best represented by the virtuosic work of Tosa Mitsunori. Like polychrome examples of Genji painting, these albums contain one or more scenes for each chapter. They present a new, polished manner of monochrome painting that renders original compositions at a dramatically reduced scale with rich detail that rewards close inspection.
In this scene from Chapter 38, “Bell Crickets” (Suzumushi), Genji’s young wife, the Third Princess, becomes a nun after her secret affair with Kashiwagi. Incense burners highlighted with gold and fine lines delineate patterns on the robes of the ladies-in-waiting.
gallery 225, case D
伝土佐光信筆 三条西実隆詞書 石山寺縁起絵巻（巻第四）
Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (active ca. 1462–1525)
Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera (Ishiyamadera engi emaki), Scroll 4 Muromachi period (1392–1573), 1497
Handscroll from a set of seven; ink and color on paper
Ishiyamadera Temple, Otsu, Shiga Prefecture
Important Cultural Property
Found among the thirty-three miraculous stories in the Illustrated Legends of Ishiyamadera is this earliest dated image of Murasaki Shikibu looking at the moon as she begins writing her tale. She stands in profile, wearing the red sash of a religious pilgrim and pushing aside the blinds to gaze toward the dark blue waters of Lake Biwa.
Toward the left, the illusory image of the moon’s reflection comes into view, floating atop the waves.
The calligraphy has been attributed to the prominent courtier Sanjōnishi Sanetaka (1455–1537).
gallery 223, vitrine C, rotation 2
源氏物語浮舟帖
Booklet of “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune)
Kamakura period (1185–1333), 13th century
Thread-bound book; ink on paper
The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara
Important Cultural Property
This is the oldest example of an illustrated Genji book. It contains two exquisite “ink-line” (hakubyō) paintings, prized for the graphic interplay of the white paper, meticulously drawn lines, and glossy dark patches of ink.
Although they date to the thirteenth century, these images retain hallmarks of Heian-period narrative painting, such as the plump, rounded faces and the bushy eyebrows drawn with multiple thin lines.
Here, Ukifune reads a letter from Kaoru reproaching her for being unfaithful to him with Niou. Finding herself entangled in a love triangle, she nervously faces her inkstone and brush as she considers how to reply.
wall labels no chat (galleries and cases not indicated)
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
The wandering spirit of Lady Rokujō, Genji’s neglected lover, attacking his first wife, Lady Aoi, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1981
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Genji (age 17) with Tō no Chūjō—his brother-in-law, cousin, friend, and rival—during the famous “rainy night scene” at the palace in Chapter 2, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1983
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Lady Murasaki and Genji at Nijō on a snowy night after his overtures to Princess Asagao are finally over, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1984
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Niou whisking Ukifune away by boat from her residence in Uji to a secluded villa, where they can be together in private, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Heisei period (1989–2019), 1992
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Ukifune’s attempt to drown herself, inspired by the painting Ophelia by John Everett Millais, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Heisei period (1989–2019), 1992
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Ukifune after taking the tonsure to become a Buddhist nun (seen behind the curtain) and living in a convent outside the capital in Ono, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Heisei period (1989–2019), 1993
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Genji’s father and mother, the Kiritsubo Emperor and his consort, from the manga series The Tale of
Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1984
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Prince Genji (age 3, after the death of his mother), from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Heisei period (1989–2019), 1993
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Fujitsubo, the consort of Genji’s father, passionately longed for by Genji from a young age; she later bears Genji’s secret son, Emperor Reizei, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn
(Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1987
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Genji with the young Murasaki, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Fujitsubo and to whom he has developed an overpowering attraction, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Heisei period (1989–2019), 1990
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
Genji mourning the loss of Fujitsubo, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1984
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
The Third Princess, the youngest daughter of the former Suzaku Emperor, with her pet cat, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1987
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
The death of Lady Murasaki, Genji’s beloved, over whom he mourns for an entire year preceding his own death, from the manga series The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1989
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
大和和紀作 『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』
Yamato Waki (born 1948)
The death of Genji, the empty chapter in Murasaki’s tale, from the manga series The Tale of Genji:
Dreams at Dawn (Genji monogatari: Asaki yumemishi)
Shōwa period (1926–89), 1989
Matted painting; ink and color on paper
Collection of the artist
Asaki yumemishi © Yamato Waki
Group chat
gallery location: 231; case location/etc: 2 copies; 1 on each side of center case
Phantom Genji Scrolls
Thirteen scrolls and several fragments survive today from what was once the most comprehensive set of Genji handscrolls ever produced. The pieces are dispersed across collections around the world and more continue to emerge, earning the set its nickname, the Phantom Genji Scrolls. The identities of the calligraphers suggest that the project involved a network of high-ranking Kyoto aristocrats centered around the Kujō family. The production, however, seems to have been coordinated by one Sugihara Moriyasu (active mid-17th century), whose seals appear in nearly all the surviving inscriptions. While the artist remains unknown, the paintings bear the hallmarks of work by the Kyoto Kano school. The immense scale of this set, which also contained the entire
Genji text of each chapter, enabled a meticulous approach to illustration, resulting in new images that seem to break with convention.
Audio Kiosk labels
Recitation of The Tale of Genji
The opening lines of Chapter 1, “The Lady of the Paulownia-Courtyard Chambers” (Kiritsubo), which describe
Genji’s mother and her relationship with Genji’s father, the emperor
Recitation by Nishida Kumiko 西田久美子
いづれの御時にか、女御、更衣あまたさぶらひ給ひける中に、いとやんごとなき際にはあらぬがすぐ
れてときめき給ふ有けり。はじめより我はと思ひ上がりたまへる御方々、めざましき物におとしめそ
ねみ給ふ。同じ程、それよりげらうの更衣たちはまして安からず。朝夕の宮仕へにつけても人の心を
のみ動かし、うらみを負ふ積りにやありけむ、いとあづしくなりゆき物心ぼそげに里がちなるを、い
よいよあかずあはれなる物に思ほして、人の譏りをもえ憚らせ給はず、世のためしにも成ぬべき御も
てなしなり。(Ōshima-bon 大島本)
In whose reign was it that a woman of rather undistinguished lineage captured the heart of the emperor and enjoyed his favor above all the other imperial wives and concubines? Certain consorts, whose high noble status gave them a sense of vain entitlement, despised and reviled her as an unworthy upstart from the very moment she began her service. Ladies of lower rank were even more vexed, for they knew His Majesty would never bestow the same degree of affection and attention on them. As a result, the mere presence of this woman at morning rites or evening ceremonies seemed to provoke hostile reactions among her rivals, and the anxiety she suffered as a consequence of these ever-increasing displays of jealousy was such a heavy burden that gradually her health began to fail.
—Translation by Dennis Washburn
Push button to hear the recitation
Chanting the Lotus Repentance Rite (Hokke senbō)
This musically chanted recitation (shōmyō) is from the Lotus Repentance Rite, which intends to purify the six sense organs. In this section on the eye, the speaker confesses how the sense of sight engenders desire and an attachment to material things, clouding the perception of ultimate reality beyond the world of illusion.
A beautifully chanted recitation enhanced the emotional and aesthetic appeal of a ritual, and was thought to contribute to its religious efficacy. In Chapter 40, “Rites of the Sacred Law” (Minori), the Lotus Repentance
Rite is intoned on behalf of Genji’s beloved companion Murasaki just before her death.
An attachment to literature, especially fiction and love poetry, also demanded repentance, and some believed that Murasaki Shikibu needed Buddhist salvation for having written The Tale of Genji. The Prayer for Genji
(displayed nearby) attempts to sacralize her tale by transforming its chapter titles into a sacred hymn for vocalization.
法華懺法 「六根段 眼根段」部分
声明 齊川文泰 兵庫県西宮市 天台宗 吉祥山多聞寺・実相寺 住職
Lotus Repentance Rite
Recited by Saikawa Bundai, Head Priest of the Tendai Sect Temples Tamonji and Jissōji, Hyogo Prefecture
The Six Sense Faculties: The Eye
I, a disciple of the Buddha, along with all the sentient beings of this Dharma realm, offer my heartfelt repentance. Through innumerable past lives, because of the sense of sight, I have developed an attachment to form and appearances. My attachment to form has resulted in love and longing for the objects that enter my vision. Because of this love and longing, I have received the body of a woman and in birth after birth remain attached to and deluded by appearances . . .
Push button to hear the chanting video disclaimer
gallery 226, next to video
The life story of Princess Atsu (1836–1883), wife of the thirteenth Tokugawa shogun, is the focus of a novel by
Miyao Tomiko, Tenshō-in Atsu-hime (1984). In 2008 a fifty-episode series based on the book was produced by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. A clip of that television drama is playing here; although it is fictionalized, viewers can get a sense of the grandeur of the original bridal procession. The elaborate palanquin actually used by Atsu-hime is displayed in the nearby case.
Permanent collection items, these may not be part of the exhibition per se
gallery 224
阿弥陀如来坐像
Amida Nyorai
Kamakura period (1185–1333), ca. 1250
Wood with gold leaf
Rogers Fund, 1919 (19.140)
Amida Nyorai (Sanskrit: Amitabha Tathagata), the Buddha of Limitless Light, sits upon a lotus pedestal with his hands forming the mudra of meditation. Amida presides over his own paradise, the Western Pure Land, to which he welcomes any being who calls upon his name. His benevolent gaze, directed toward the viewer below, is symbolic of this boundless compassion. The Pure Land sects of Buddhism, with their emphasis on salvation through faith, stirred the imagination of both courtiers and commoners alike, and temples dedicated to Amida were constructed throughout Japan. Originally installed at a temple in the vicinity of Mount Kōya, this sculpture and the Dainichi Nyorai on the central altar were both acquired by the Museum through negotiations with
Yamanaka & Co., the pioneering dealers in Japanese art.
十一面観音像
Eleven-Headed Kannon
Nanbokuchō period (1336–92)
Wood with lacquer, gold leaf, and metal decoration
The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers,
Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift,
1975 (1975.268.167) Eleven-headed Kannon (Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara) is an important bodhisattva in the esoteric schools of
Buddhism. Atop the deity’s own head are eleven additional heads. Ten of these take the form of bodhisattvas and represent the ten stages toward enlightenment. The topmost head is that of Amida (Sanskrit: Amitabha), the
Buddha from whom Kannon emanates. The fluid, deeply carved drapery follows a thirteenth-century sculptural style developed in Nara by the Kei school of Buddhist sculptors. However, the more decorative treatment of the robe and the heavy, solemn face suggest a fourteenth-century date for this imposing figure. It was originally installed at Kuhonji, a small Shingon school temple located northwest of Kyoto.
地蔵菩薩像
Jizō
Kamakura period (1185–1333), late 12th–mid-13th century
Wood with lacquer, gold leaf, cutout gold foil decoration, and color
Rogers Fund, 1918 (18.93)
Here, the bodhisattva Jizō (Sanskrit: Kshitigarbha) takes the guise of an itinerant monk. He holds in his left hand a wish-fulfilling jewel and in his right hand a monk’s staff with six rings that jingle to announce his arrival. From hell to paradise, Jizō’s compassionate presence illuminates the righteous way, and he saves from harm those who call out to him. The beautiful flowing movement of the garment helps to date this work to the early Kamakura period. Traces of richly colored paint and cut-gold decoration remain on the lower half of the sculpture, providing a rare glimpse of the work’s original condition.
不動明王像
Fudō Myōō (Achala-vidyārāja)
Heian period (794–1185), 12th century
Joined-woodblock construction with traces of color and cut-gold The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers,
Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift,
1975 (1975.268.163)
Fudō Myōō is the most widely represented of the Buddhist deities known as Myōō, or Kings of Brightness. A fierce protector of the Buddhist Law, he is a direct emanation of the Buddha Dainichi Nyorai, the principal
Buddha of Esoteric Buddhism. The first sculptures of Fudō made in Japan were seated, but standing sculptures like this one were carved beginning in the eleventh century. Fudō uses his sword to cut through ignorance and his lasso to reign in those who would block the path to enlightenment. The heavy weight of the shoulders and back is planted firmly on the stiffened legs, appropriate for a deity whose name means “Immovable.”
This statue, originally composed of six hollowed-out pieces of wood, was formerly the central icon of the
Kuhonji Gomadō in Funasaka, twenty miles northwest of Kyoto.