Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji

second half of the18th century

Not on view

This robe exemplifies the exquisitely embroidered and dyed robes made in the late Edo period for high-ranking samurai ladies, especially in daimyo households. They came to be referred to as “imperial court style” garments, as the landscapes and seasonal plants combine with motifs referencing Noh plays, poems, or classical literature such as The Tale of Genji to evoke aristocratic life in the Heian period. The motifs consist of pines, plum and cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, maple leaves, reeds, clouds, rocks, and streams. The stylized landscapes include spring patterns, a half-moon, and autumn flowers. The scene showing the Nonomiya shrine on the back of the right sleeve is from Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreens.” On the right of the lower section, the depiction of the koto refers to the best-known scene of Chapter 2, “Broom Cypress”—the so-called “appraisal of women on a rainy night” episode.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

御所解源氏物語模様帷子
Title: Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: second half of the18th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Plain-weave ramie with paste resist-dyeing, silk-thread embroidery, and gold-thread couching
Dimensions: 73 × 47 1/2 in. (185.4 × 120.7 cm)
Classification: Costumes-Embroidered
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2018
Object Number: 2018.637
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Robe (Kosode) with Floral Roundels, Figured satin-weave silk with tie-dyeing, silk embroidery, and couched gold thread, Japan — Robe (Kosode) with Floral Roundels
Japan
ca. 1670s

Robe (Kosode) with Cherry Blossoms and Cypress Fence

, Silk and metallic thread embroidery with resist dyeing on satin damask, Japan — Robe (Kosode) with Cherry Blossoms and Cypress Fence
Japan
second half of the 17th century

Robe (Kosode) with Shells and Sea Grasses
, Embroidery and gold leaf on plain-weave silk patterned with warp floats, Japan — Robe (Kosode) with Shells and Sea Grasses
Japan
early 17th century

Sutra Box (Kyōbako) with Lotus Pond, Lacquered wood with gold togidashimaki-e, hiramaki-e, and e-nashiji (“pear-skin picture”), Japan — Sutra Box (Kyōbako) with Lotus Pond
Japan
early 17th century

Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kurodana) with Wild Grapevine and Family Crest, Lacquered wood with gold, silver hiramaki-e, Japan — Shelf for Cosmetic Boxes (Kurodana) with Wild Grapevine and Family Crest
Japan
first half 17th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.