Detached section from scroll one from A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari), now remounted in original position as part of 2002.459.1

A Long Tale for an Autumn Night represents a genre of story that became popular in Japan in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It tells of an amorous affair between a Buddhist monk and a younger male acolyte (chigo). The usual outcome of these tragic tales is the monk's attainment of religious salvation after repenting his obsession with carnal pleasures.

A Long Tale for an Autumn Night comprises three illustrated handscrolls (emaki), with the narrative progressing from right to left. Note the use of a device called iji dōzu (literally, "different time, same illustration"), in which the same figures appear multiple times in a single pictorial segment so that several events can be depicted simultaneously.

At an earlier point, the first section of this handscroll was excised and mounted separately as a hanging scroll. In 2005 the Museum acquired the missing section and restored it to its original location in the story. This exhibition represents the first opportunity to see all three scrolls in the set after restoration.