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Photo: Spike Mafford
Illustrations of Genji Monogatari: Vol. 1, The Tale of Genji
Photo: Spike Mafford

Illustrations of Genji Monogatari: Vol. 1, The Tale of Genji

Date17th century
Maker Tosa Mitsunori Japanese
Maker Tosa Mitsuoki Japanese, 1617-1691
Maker Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese
Label TextThe Tale of Genji was written in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court in Kyoto. It details the trials of Genji, a cavorting young courtier. This set of handscrolls includes a passage of text and illustration for each of the tale’s fifty-four chapters. The paintings offer glimpses of the daily lives of courtiers, including meticulous detailing of the textures and colors of interior furnishings, décor, and fashion. Beginning in the 1400s, generations of painters of the Tosa school received patronage, primarily from members of the aristocracy.
Object number52.40.1
Photo CreditPhoto: Spike Mafford
Exhibition HistoryPortland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, "Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum", cat. # 130Published ReferencesFuller, Richard E. "Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 138a and b "Gift to a City" exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 130 "Gift to a City: Masterworks From the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum," Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, no. 130.
Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection
Dimensions10 1/2 in. (26.67 cm) L.: 35.67 ft
MediumHandscroll; color and platinum on paper
Illustrations of Genji Monogatari:  Vol. 5, Lady of the Boat
Tosa Mitsunori
17th century
Object number: 52.40.5
Illustrations of Genji Monogatari:  Vol. 4, Blue Trousers
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
17th century
Object number: 52.40.4
Illustrations of Genji Monogatari:  Vol. 2, The Sacred Tree
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
17th century
Object number: 52.40.2
Illustrations of Genji Monogatari:  Vol 3, A Wreath of Cloud
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
17th century
Object number: 52.40.3
Tosa Mitsuoki
ca. 17th century?
Object number: 2015.14.5
Photo: Spike Mafford
Japanese
17th century
Object number: 72.1.1
Photo: Spike Mafford
Japanese
second half 17th century
Object number: 72.1.2
Female Oni (illustration for a folk tale)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1815-49
Object number: 39.166
Kitano Tenjin Engi: Founding of the Kitano Shrine
Tosa School
17th century
Object number: 49.145
Nobleman Playing a Flute
Tosa School
17th century
Object number: 46.170
Three Heian Court Ladies Enjoying Autumn Foliage
Tosa School
17th century
Object number: 46.195
Photo: Beth Mann
Tosa School
late 18th century
Object number: 35.116