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 number46-60/16

On View

Not on view

Gallery Location

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionA lady finally agreed to meet a man who was in love with her. He told her that his love was more consuming that that of the Herdsman Star. He begged her to remove the barrier which stood between them and, deeply moved, she did.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Sages and Heroes: Storytelling in Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 12, 2025–November 30, 2025, no cat.

Provenance

Tokyo art market, Japan, January 1946 [1];

Purchased on the Tokyo art market by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1946.

NOTES:

[1] Acquisition documents in the Nelson-Atkins files record that Curator of Asian Art Laurence Sickman purchased this object when he was stationed in Tokyo while serving with the U.S. Army’s Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section after World War II.

The vendor is not named on purchasing documents. Sickman bought other objects in Tokyo in early 1946 from Michelangelo Piacentini (d. 2005), an Italian art historian based in that city who collected and dealt in Asian objects, so it is possible Piacentini was the source. This is not confirmed, however, and research in currently ongoing.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.