The Tale of Genji, chapter 2: Prince Genji's visit to Utsusemi
17th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1904.117
Tags
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.
Art Historical Context
This painting by Tosa Mitsuoki captures a moment from Chapter 2 of *The Tale of Genji*, the eleventh-century masterpiece by court ladyurasaki Shikibu. It shows Prince Genji’s visit to the character Utsusemi, a scene rendered in the refined narrative tradition of Japanese painting. Mitsuoki, a leading figure of the Tosa school during the Edo period, specialized in yamato-e, the colorful, literary style that emphasizes elegant figures, delicate architecture, and poetic landscapes drawn from classical texts. Created in the seventeenth century, the work reflects the enduring popularity of *The Ta...