Forty-nine scenes from the Tales of Ise
Attributed to Satomura Genchin Japanese
Not on view
The Tales of Ise has earned recognition as one of the great works of Japanese classical prose literature. Compiled in the tenth century, it comprises 124 short chapters. Each chapter relates an episode, sometimes amorous, in the life of an anonymous protagonist referred to simply as “that man.” He has long been thought to be based on the ninth-century courtier-poet Ariwara no Narihira.
While the text circulated for centuries through copied manuscripts, the gist of the tale was also conveyed through small paintings associated with each chapter, often accompanied by the relevant poem. The paintings and poems, rendered on thick paper rectangles called shikishi, sometimes were preserved in albums or mounted onto screens, as here.
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