"Flares" from "The Tale of Genji"
Framed: 17 1/4 × 13 1/2 inches (43.82 × 34.29 cm)
Scenes from The Tale of Genji were often painted on album leaves for personal viewing in the Edo period (1615–1868). The text from the tale likely accompanied the illustrations.
These three scenes depict scenes of the life of Prince Genji (the tale’s main character). In the New Herbs chapter, Prince Genji reluctantly agrees to marry the daughter of the retired Emperor Suzaku. In the Flares chapter, Prince Genji gives a young Lady Tamakazura an evening koto lesson. A servant depicted in the garden is lighting a lantern. In the Picture Contest chapter, Prince Genji and his love, Murasaki, search through a room’s furniture and bookshelves for paintings to admire.
John W. Gruber, New York or Dalton, PA, by December 10, 1984;
His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1984.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Calendar of Events, March 1985, (repro.).
Patricia Graham, “Japanese Art in the Nelson-Museum of Art,” Orientations 16, no.8 (August 1985): 24, fig.15, (repro.).
