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The Tale of Genji (Wakamurasaki chapter)

Artist Unknown
Culture Japanese
Title The Tale of Genji (Wakamurasaki chapter)
Date 17th century
Medium Ink and color with gold leaf on paper
Dimensions Overall (length is the screen completely opened flat): 64 3/4 × 146 1/2 × 4 1/8 × 25 in. (164.5 × 372.1 × 10.5 × 63.5 cm)
Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 66.12

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About this Work

This pair of screens [ 66.11 and 66.12] illustrates two chapters of the Tale of Genji written in the eleventh century by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu.The tale revolves around the life of Prince Genji and his descendants, their loves, losses, jealousies, and sorrows. The screen on the right is from the chapter entited "Murasaki" or Lavendar. Murasaki, one of Genji's enduring love interests, is depicted as a young girl in the center of the veranda. Her pet bird has escaped to the highest branches of the flowering cherry to the left. Genji peeps through the fence seeing Murasaki for the first time.

The screen on the left is from the chapter "Ukifune" sometimes translated as floating or dirfting boat, depicts Genji's grandson Niou catching a glimpse of Ukifune who sits with her serving women folding clothes.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"The Tale of Genji (Wakamurasaki chapter) | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=66.12