Nine Scenes from the Tale of Genji

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

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