桐壷
帚木
空蝉
夕顔
若紫
末摘花
紅葉賀
花宴
葵
賢木
花散里
須磨
明石
澪標
蓬生
関屋
絵合
松風
薄雲
朝顔
少女
玉鬘
初音
胡蝶
蛍
常夏
篝火
野分
行幸
藤袴
真木柱
梅枝
藤裏葉
若菜上
若菜下
柏木
横笛
鈴虫
夕霧
御法
幻
匂宮
紅梅
竹河
橋姫
椎本
総角
早蕨
宿木
東屋
浮舟
蜻蛉
手習
夢浮橋
Scenes from "The Tale of Genji"
源氏物語図屏風
- Birth Year
- 1870
- Death Year
- 1917
- Date
- late Meiji period
- Technique, Material, Format
- color on silk, a pair of six-panel folding screens
- Dimension
- each 172.0 x 377.0 cm
- Donor name
- 松浦信太郎氏
- Category
- Nihonga (Japanese-style Painting)
- Inventory Number
- 86-JP-046
Scenes from The Tale of Genji were a common genre in Japanese painting from the Middle Ages until recent times. Modern painters even continued the tradition, responding to earlier works. In his Genji paintings, Kajita Hanko omitted backgrounds and extraneous characters so that the major characters would stand out in stark compositions. For example, in chapter 35 of the book (Wakana Part II), Onna-sannomiya appears with doll-like reticence and little expression of emotion. And yet, in Hanko’s portrayal, she collapses in tears in the face of an unsolicited suitor. Her bent over posture stands out on the blank background, inviting viewers to empathize with her plight. In the several images he made for other chapters (there are 54 in total), Kajita omits the people entirely, depicting only scenes of nature to convey the changing of the seasons.
(UCHIYAMA Junko)