Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)
Chōbunsai Eishi Japanese
Not on view
Two women and a girl play with a kitten. The beach at Suma, with boats sailing in Osaka Bay, is visible beyond the open shōji, the veranda, and a stand of pines. A design of fishnets adorns the kimono of the central figure. This left-hand sheet from a print triptych recasts the episode of Genji’s exile in Suma with stylish ladies in Edo-period clothing in place of the male companions who accompanied the protagonist in the tale. The artist, Chōbunsai Eishi, born into a high-ranking samurai family, would have been familiar with such up-to-date fashions worn by Edo’s social elite.
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