Scenes from The Tale of Genji

Tosa School Japanese

Not on view

These elegant and richly colored Tale of Genji illustrations are stylistically and compositionally close to the refined, almost miniaturist album-leaf paintings by Tosa Mitsuyoshi (1539–1613) and his Tosa school successor, Mitsunori (1583–1638). Although slightly less delicate and gossamer in quality than the album paintings of either, the scenes created by this unknown artist exhibit a similar attention to minute detail, highlighted in these albums by layers of mineral pigments and the application of gold and sprinkled gold. Each of the tale’s fifty-four chapters is represented by an illustration. Although devoid of titles or other inscriptions, standardized compositions allow the viewer to identify the chapters, characters, and events depicted.

Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

album a, leaf 1

Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
Scenes from The Tale of Genji, Tosa School, Pair of albums (accordion fold) with 54 illustrations; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.