Section of an Illustrated Tale of Genji Poetry Contest
Unknown Artist
1400s
Medium
section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
image: 14.4 × 39.9 cm · mounted with knobs: 91.2 × 56.9 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leighton R. Longhi
Accession Number
1989.119
About this artwork
This hanging scroll was once part of a handscroll depicting a waka (thirty-one syllable verse) poetry contest between characters from the 11th-century literary classic Tale of Genji. In this section, a woman known informally as Kumoi no kari, or “Goose in Fog,” after a lovelorn line she hums in the novel, is pitted against Higekuro no taishō, or “General Blackbeard.” Three of his poems, numbered 46 to 48, from “The Handsome Pillar” chapter appear over his image. The subsequent three poems inscri...