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“Taira no Koremori’s Farewell,” from The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari)

ca. 1640
Not on view
This painting pictorializes a scene from The Tale of the Heike, the great early medieval tale of war, valor, and tragic love that commemorates the Genpei War of 1180–85, which pitted the two great courtier families—the Taira (Heike clan) and Minamoto (Genji clan)—against each other. Matabei captures one of the most pivotal and poignant episodes of the entire tale, showing one of the last heirs to the Taira family’s power, Lieutenant General (Chūjō) Koremori, bidding farewell to his wife. As an artist, Matabei established a reputation for adding psychological suggestiveness to his compositions, seen here in the central figures, where the poses and effective use of blank space imply that both realize they will hereafter be separated. In contrast, the attendants have animated facial expressions, manifesting the exaggerated features for which the artist became famous.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 岩佐又兵衛筆　『平家物語』 平維盛 北の方惜別図
  • Title: “Taira no Koremori’s Farewell,” from The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari)
  • Artist: Iwasa Matabei (Katsumochi) (Japanese, 1578–1650)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1640
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold and silver on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 23 1/4 × 14 3/4 in. (59 × 37.5 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 55 1/2 × 18 15/16 in. (141 × 48.1 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 55 1/2 × 21 1/4 in. (141 × 54 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift and Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.218
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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