Scene from A Long Tale for an Autumn Night
Not on view
This painting comprises a long-missing fragment from the first scroll in a set of three illustrated narrative handscrolls entitled A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo no nagamonogatari), a tragic but sensitively narrated love story of a Buddhist monk who falls in love with a younger male acolyte-attendant (see 2002.459.1–3). It belongs to a genre of medieval didactic tales on homoerotic themes called chigo monogatari, or “stories of acolytes.”
This fragment represents the right half of a scene that depicts Monk Keikai preparing a letter to be delivered to the acolyte monk Umewaka, with whom he has become infatuated. Keikai had earlier befriended Umewaka’s trusted attendant Keiju and is relying on him deliver the missive he has composed. The left half of this scene together with its accompanying text, constitute the opening passage of the set’s first scroll (2002.459.1). The lefthand portion of the scene shows the moment when Umewaka, always shown in a bright red robe, is receives the letter from Keiju.
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