Court Ladies among cherry trees (left); Cherry blossoms, a high fence and retainers (right)

Object Details

• Artist

  Style of Tawaraya Sotatsu 俵屋宗達 (fl. ca. 1600-1643)

• School/Tradition

  Rinpa

• Description

  The right-hand screen (F1903.101) shows a group of six court ladies standing under cherry trees. At the extreme right stands one of the two-wheeled ox-carts (goshogoruma) in which the ladies have come to the grove, and the tops of two other carts appear in the foreground at little to the left.

  The left-hand screen (F1903.102) is divided diagonally by a fence made of bundles of dried stalks of the hagi (bush clover), which is modeled in low relief in gesso and gilded; this fence encloses the garden where the cherry trees grow, laden with many white blossoms. Outside the fence in the lower left-hand corner is a group of white-robed male attendants fast asleep. A long-handled higasa (parasol) in a white cloth cover rests against the fence.

• Label

  The Tale of Genji is a lengthy fictional narrative written by Murasaki Shikibu in the eleventh century. Presumably drawing from her real experiences at court, Lady Murasaki crafted an intricate tale of the life and loves of the fictional Prince Genji, offering broader, strongly Buddhist-influenced reflections on karmic cycles, the futility of desire, and the melancholy passage of life.

  Illustrated versions of the tale began to appear in the twelfth century and were generally codified by the seventeenth century. These screens refer to the "Asagao" (Morning glory) chapter, in which Prince Genji visits the quarters of Princess Asagao, whom he has unsuccessfully pursued in the past, and is again adroitly spurned by the princess. The attendants depicted waiting outside a fence and parked carriages are references to Genji's visit to the princess. Although subtle, these visual hints had long been standard in illustrated versions of The Tale of Genji and were enough to remind the literate Japanese viewer of this episode.

  Only a small portion of the total composition in the two screens is actually devoted to a recognizable narrative, in contrast to the dominance of two large masses of form-a curving ground line in the left screen and an angular, diagonal fence in the right screen. These may be attempts by the painter to suggest the conflicting emotions of the described encounter-the prince's hopeful arrival and his subsequent rejection.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Screen List, L. 71, pg. 18, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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)

  East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art (February 24 to May 13, 2007)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (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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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1590s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Matsuki, Bunkio

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Cherry tree, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Cherry blossom, Attendant

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings