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The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki)

late 15th–early 16th century

Not on view

In this ink-line version of The Tale of Sumiyoshi, a narrative that predates The Tale of Genji, the protagonist has found his lost love in Sumiyoshi by praying to the bodhisattva Kannon, but has not yet received permission to take her home. Several young courtiers attempt to console him as he waits with a round of a fan-matching. The painting was once part a horizontal handscroll, which, at less than seven inches in height, would have fit comfortably in the reader’s hands.

The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki), Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

住吉物語絵巻

Title: The Tale of Sumiyoshi (Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki)

Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)

Date: late 15th–early 16th century

Culture: Japan

Medium: Handscroll section mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper

Dimensions: 6 × 19 1/8 in. (15.2 × 48.6 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Lent by Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer
Collection of the Arts of Asia

The Met

Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.