Scenes from The Tale of Genji

Object Details

• Label

  Formal competitions in composing poetry and painting, as illustrated in this scene from the eleventh-century narrative The Tale of Genji, provided amusement and allowed audiences to admire and critique the creations of fellow aristocrats. Contests had established rules, thematic restrictions, and judges. In the left panel of this folding screen, teams of the Left and Right, representing the court ladies Akikonomu and Kokiden, sit on opposite sides of the room and present the boxes of scrolls they have selected for the contest. The room is shown from above, as if the roof has been removed, a common artistic device in Japanese painting. After debates lasting well into the night, Prince Genji's own painting, based on his long exile at Suma and accompanied by poems that convey his troubled emotions, won decisively over a presentation of older paintings of classical subjects. The moonlit evening ends with courtiers performing a concert.

• Provenance

  To 1908

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1908 [1]

  From 1908 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1908 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Screen List, pg. 38, 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)

  Games, Contests and Artful Play in Japan (March 19 to October 23, 2005)

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

• 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)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1550s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), Japanese Art, The Tale of Genji, Poetry

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings