The Tales of Ise
ArtistLineage of
Tosa School
(Japanese)
Datelate 17th-early 18th century
MediumPoem sheet (shikishi), colors and gold on paper
DimensionsOverall: 9 1/4 × 6 15/16 inches (23.5 × 17.62 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number46-60/5
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 222
Collections
DescriptionA man spent a single night with a lady. The lady was miserable and gazed at herself in the water of the wash basin. The man overheard the lady's poem.Exhibition HistorySages and Heroes: Storytelling in Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 12, 2025–November 30, 2025, no cat.
The Tales of Ise, compiled in the 10th century, is one of Japan’s most celebrated poem novels. It consists of 125 episodes that intersperse the biographical narrative of a courtier-poet, Ariwara no Narihira (825–880 C.E.) with his romantic poetry. Illustrations to the episodes became popular in the 17th century. These paintings are closely modeled on a famous woodblock printed set, the Saga bon edition, published in 1608, that has been reprinted many times since.
With Laurence Sickman (1907-1988), Kansas City, MO, by 1946;
Purchased from Laurence Sickman by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1946.
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