Illustrated Handscrolls of The Tale of Genji

Ryūjo (Tatsujo) Japanese

Not on view

This handscroll is inscribed and painted by a woman artist who styled herself Ryūjō, literally, the “Dragon Lady.” It is from a set of five scrolls comprising text excerpts and related illustrations for all fifty-four chapters of The Tale of Genji, the monumental classic of Japanese literature (early 11th century) authored by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu. Each excerpted passage of prose mixed with poems—usually describing a crucial turning point in the plot—anticipates the painted vignette that follows. The highly skilled and refined courtly calligraphy bespeaks the practiced hand of a highranking womanof the palace or a wealthy warlord’s retinue. In the convention of “scattered writing” (chirashi-gaki), traditionally a specialty of women calligraphers through the ages and into early modern times, the columns of script are arranged in staggered registers to create a dynamic visual effect.



夕顔

Chapter 4, “The Lady of the Evening Faces” (Yūgao)



Yūgao, one of Genji’s many mistresses, is residing in a humble abode in Kyoto’s fifth ward. While visiting his ailing old nurse in the neighborhood, Genji stops in his carriage outside her gate. In what appears to be a case of mistaken identity, Yūgao sends out to Genji’s servant a fan inscribed with a coquettish poem and a white flower that blooms in the evening (yūgao).



若紫

Chapter 5, “Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)



Suffering from an illness, grieving over the death of Yūgao, and tormented by his affair with his father’s consort Fujitsubo, the eighteen-year-old Genji visits a healer in the northern hills, where he glimpses a ten-year-old girl named Murasaki. He finds her adorable and so similar to Fujitsubo (her paternal aunt) that he takes her into his own home and later becomes infatuated with her.



末摘花

Chapter 6, “The Safflower” (Suetsumuhana)



Genji courts a princess but discovers that her appearance is less than ideal, especially her nose, which he thinks resembles the bulbous red tip of a safflower blossom (suetsumuhana). This scene usually shows Genji and the young Murasaki comparing drawings of the princess with the ruddy nose, but here the artist, in a departure from tradition, shows Genji gazing into a mirror after he dabs red makeup on his own nose, in imitation of the Safflower Princess.



紅葉賀

Chapter 7, “An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliage” (Momiji no ga)



In this scene, Genji and Tō-no-Chūjō perform an elegant court dance, called “Waves of the Blue Sea,” for the Retired Emperor, Kiritsubo Emperor, and the Crown Prince (future Emperor Suzaku), who are seated behind blinds. Genji’s beauty and talent is said to outshine that of Tō-no-Chūjō, his friend and rival.



On view from August 28, 2021–April 24, 2022

Illustrated Handscrolls of The Tale of Genji, Ryūjo (Tatsujo) (Japanese, active late 16th century), Five handscrolls; ink and color on paper (illustrations); ink on paper (texts), Japan

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