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Beneath the Oak, Chapter 46 (Shiigamoto)
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
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Beneath the Oak, Chapter 46 (Shiigamoto)
Beneath the Oak, Chapter 46 (Shiigamoto)
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Location
Category
Library Item
Item no
16241
Title
Beneath the Oak, Chapter 46 (Shiigamoto) from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
Mitsuuji (Genji) and a woman wind silk in a lavishly decorated interior, behind them hang curtains patterned with phoenixes and painted screens with lotus designs. The custom of winding silk is frequently associated with the Tanabata Japanese star festival which occurs on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Tanabata refers to the legend of the cow herder and the weaver, who were only able to meet once a year by crossing the heavenly bridge that connected the two sides of the Milky Way.
Mitsuuji stands in front of the curtain wearing a lilac kimono, in his hand he holds a spool wound with red silk thread. A young woman with her hair in bunches is seated on the ground with a larger spool of thread before her. Her under kimono is white and over this she wears a red trimmed loose fitting outer kimono. To her left there is a small black lacquer desk upon which are two scrolls.
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
Wood cut
Location
Art and Design Library
Signed: Toyokuni ga
Censors' seals: Aratame
Date seal: Tiger year, 2nd month (1854)
Kyoka poem
Murasaki Shikibu 'Tale of Genji', 'Shiigamoto', Chapter 46. In this chapter Niou makes a pilgrimage to Hatsuse and takes this opportunity to stop at Uji where the Eighth Prince and his two daughters reside. At Uji, Niou and his companions make music to the delight of the Eighth Prince who hears the music on the breeze. The Prince invites Kaoru to join him and a small party gathers at the villa to play music. Niou sends a poem and a branch of flowering cherry blossom to the younger daughter, Naka no Kimi, and she gives him an encouraging response. Kaoru offers to provide for the Eighth Prince's daughters should the Prince die, and this is reassuring to the Prince who is convinced that he has not long to live. The Prince speaks to his daughters and he warns them that they should not be easily persuaded to leave their home in the Uji hills. He is worried that they will meet a man unworthy of them. Sensing that his end is near, the Prince goes on a final retreat to a mountain temple where he dies. While his friend
While The Adept takes care of the funeral rites and offerings, the Prince's daughters are overcome with grief. Niou writes to the younger daughter but she is unable to answer him, instead her sister, Oigimi, pens a reply and Niou is intrigued by her elegant handwriting.
Kaoru visits the sisters and insists that they treat him with a greater degree of familiarity now that he is to act as their guardian. He is particularly drawn to Oigimi. On one such visit he spies on the sisters and discovers that the younger sister, Naka no Kimi, is also very attractive.
Exhibitions with this item
'A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour'
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