Minneapolis Institute of Art

Nine Scenes from the Tale of Genji

Attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu

Date

early 17th century

Medium

Eight-panel folding screen, ink, color, silver, gold, and gold foil on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This screen shows nine scenes from consecutive chapters from the Tale of Genji in order from right to left. The far right panel depicts Genji sitting behind a writing desk and gazing out toward a setting sun. It is a specific moment from chapter 19 in which Genji, mourning the death of his lover, recites the following poem: “A rack of cloud across the light of evening, as if they, too, wore mourning weeds.” Moving left, each panel of the screen depicts a single scene from chapters 20 through 25. The far left panel actually includes two scenes from chapter 26, in which Genji first tries to seduce a young woman and then is rejected by her. Because this single eight-panel screen includes scenes from eight chapters, it was probably part of a much larger set of screens depicting scenes from all fifty-four chapters of the Tale . Japan, Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.