Over robe (uchikake) with Genji wheels, narcissus bouquets, wild ginger leaves, wisteria, and chrysanthemums

The lustrous red figured satin-weave silk ground of this elegant samurai woman’s over robe (uchikake) is patterned with repeated key-fret patterns, chrysanthemums, and orchids. Decorated all over with embroidered narcissus bouquets, wild ginger leaves, wisteria, and chrysanthemums in gold, light and dark green, and purple, the robe bears a main design featuring the stylized wheels of an imperial ox-drawn carriage, or Gosho-guruma. Court carriages, which were often depicted in paintings associated with the literary classic The Tale of Genji, are sometimes referred to as “Genji-guruma”; the term came to be used for the wheels as well. Combined with the wild ginger, the cartwheel imagery probably refers to Lady Aoi, Prince Genji’s wife, and might allude to the tale’s ninth chapter, “Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi), in which Aoi’s attendants obstructed and damaged the carriage of Genji’s lover during a grand procession. The flowers are all auspicious symbols, and the bright red color indicates that the robe was made for a young woman.