Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Booklet of “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune)
Not on view
This is the oldest example of an illustrated Genji book. It contains two exquisite “ink-line” (hakubyō) paintings, prized for the graphic interplay of the white paper, meticulously drawn lines, and glossy dark patches of ink. Although they date to the thirteenth century, these images retain hallmarks of Heian-period narrative painting, such as the plump, rounded faces and the bushy eyebrows drawn with multiple thin lines.
Here, Ukifune reads a letter from Kaoru reproaching her for being unfaithful to him with Niou. Finding herself entangled in a love triangle, she nervously faces her inkstone and brush as she considers how to reply.
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