Nine Scenes from the Tale of Genji, early 17th century
Attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsuexpand_more
Ink, color, silver, gold, and gold foil on paperexpand_more
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundationexpand_more 2015.79.5
Not on Viewexpand_more
This screen shows nine scenes from consecutive chapters from the Tale of Genji in order from right to left. The far right panel depicts Genji sitting behind a writing desk and gazing out toward a setting sun. It is a specific moment from chapter 19 in which Genji, mourning the death of his lover, recites the following poem: “A rack of cloud across the light of evening, as if they, too, wore mourning weeds.”
Moving left, each panel of the screen depicts a single scene from chapters 20 through 25. The far left panel actually includes two scenes from chapter 26, in which Genji first tries to seduce a young woman and then is rejected by her. Because this single eight-panel screen includes scenes from eight chapters, it was probably part of a much larger set of screens depicting scenes from all fifty-four chapters of the Tale.
Details
- Title
- Nine Scenes from the Tale of Genji
- Artist Life
- died c. 1640
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2015.79.5
- Provenance
- Yoshioka Tajūrō; Setsu Gatōdō Co., Ltd. (until 1966); Mary Burke (1966-2015)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murase, Art through a Lifetime, no. 81
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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