Two scenes from the Tale of Genji
Original Language Title源氏物語図屏風
CultureJapanese
Date1650-1699
MediumSix-panel screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper
DimensionsOverall: 51 1/4 × 104 1/2 inches (130.18 × 265.43 cm)
Credit LineGift of Earle Grant
Object number57-117
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 222
Collections
DescriptionThick, opaque colors define the courtly style figures and landscape. The two scenes are separated by bands of scalloped-edged gold clouds, some with relief patterns, and raised dots at the edges.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.
Written in the early 1000s, the Tale of Genji is an epic work of Japanese literature that inspired artists for centuries. The fifty-four-chapter tale depicts a story of love, loss, fortune, and infidelity in the imperial court. This painted screen features the main figure in the book, Prince Genji, in two different scenes. In Kiritsubo, Emperor Kiritsubo has a fortune-teller study Prince Genji’s facial features. In Suma, Prince Genji’s friend Tōnochūjō visits the prince, who is in exile in a remote place.
Purchase –
With Earle Grant by 1957;
Purchased from Earle Grant by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1957.
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