The Tale of Genji, chapter 2: Prince Genji's visit to Utsusemi
Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691)
17th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1904.117
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionEdo period (1615 - 1868)JapanJapanese ArtThe Tale of Genjiprincetree
About this artwork
Written in the early eleventh century by a lady of the imperial court, Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji presents an enthralling narrative of the life of Prince Genji. Already illustrated before the end of the Heian period (794-1185), the pictorial conventions for Genji illustrations were well established. All fifty-four chapters, separated by golden clouds, could be illustrated on a large Japanese screen, but sometimes one chapter was illustrated on one of a pair of screens.