Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Prayer for Genji (Genji kōshiki)
Copied by Yasojima Sukezaemon Japanese
Not on view
Prayer for Genji cleverly interweaves all fifty-four chapter titles with verses meant to reveal the tale’s inherent Buddhist meaning. It concludes with the hope that Murasaki Shikibu will escape the cycle of rebirth and that her words will be transformed into hymns of praise for the Buddha. Here, designs of a butterfly and two deer standing amid autumn grasses are printed in shimmering mica on colorful dyed papers.
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