The Tale of Genji, Chapter 34; Kashiwagi catches sight of the Third Princess

Object Details

• Artist

  Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691)

• Label

  Written in the early eleventh century by a lady of the imperial court, Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji presents an enthralling narrative of the life of Prince Genji. Already illustrated before the end of the Heian period (794-1185), the pictorial conventions for Genji illustrations were well established. All fifty-four chapters, separated by golden clouds, could be illustrated on a large Japanese screen, but sometimes one chapter was illustrated on one of a pair of screens.

  This screen shows a scene from chapter thirty-four, "New Herbs I," in which courtier Kashiwagi, Genji's rival at court, falls in love during a kickball game when he glimpses Prince Genji's new wife through a bamboo blind that has been pushed open by a pet cat. Pictorial conventions of Japanese narrative painting-the high perspective and the depiction of the room's framework as if the roof has been removed-are faithfully maintained in this painting.

• Provenance

  To 1904

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1904 [1]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1904 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Screens and Panels List, L. 90, pg. 25, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Painting the Classics: Japanese Screens (November 10, 2018 to October 14, 2019)

  Japanese Screens (August 13, 1997 to May 4, 1998)

  Japanese Screens (May 9, 1993 to November 13, 1995)

  Literary Themes in Japanese Art (February 13, 1986 to March 9, 1987)

  Japanese Screens (February 11, 1983 to July 19, 1988)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 5 (February 25, 1956 to March 15, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Screens (October 3, 1947 to November 10, 1955)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1600s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Princess, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, The Tale of Genji

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings