Skip to content

Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato) Chapter 11

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato) Chapter 11
Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato) Chapter 11
Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato) Chapter 11
Share
Category
Library Item
Item no
16203
Title
Falling Flowers (Hanachirusato) Chapter 11 from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
A lady peering out from behind a curtained doorway passes a folded letter to her companions. The curtain is decorated with crow gourds, a reference to the crow imagery that reoccurs throughout Ryutei Tanehiko's serial novel. The partially hidden woman wears a blue kimono with a red under-kimono. Before her, two young women crouch beside a candle stand and read from a scroll. A samurai kneels opposite them, perhaps waiting for a written response. The hilts of the man's two swords identify his high social status. The women are courtesans and have fastened their red and purple kimono at the front so that the fabric of their long obi belts hangs down before them. The women are barefoot and wear spiky hairpins (kogai). A view of an entrance to a large private residence appears in the top right hand corner; in this scene a cuckoo flies beneath the branches of an orange blossom. This imagery is borrowed from Murasaki Shikibu's 'Tale of Genji'.
This image derives from the serial novel or 'gokan', 'A Fake Murasaki and a Rustic Genji' (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji) written by Ryutei Tanehiko and illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), that was published between 1829-1842. This story reworks elements from the 'Tale of Genji' and transposes the action from the Heian period (794-1185) to the time of the Muromachi era's Onin Wars (1467-1477).
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Date
1853
Size
27.9 x 19.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
You can view and use digital images for personal and educational use. For more information, read our policy on image use. If you wish to use our images for commercial use, please contact us.