|
Six-fold screen
Color on paper
150.3 x 358.6
Edo period
In the center of this screen is a magnificent pine tree. The composition is divided by the skillful use of gold clouds and diagonal lines into left and right sections, each of which depicts a scene from the Tale of Genji. The subject of the left half is the Suma chapter, while that of the right half concerns Hashihime. The Suma scene depicts a concert by moonlight: Genji, who has been temporarily exiled from the capital and is living a secluded life on the coast at Suma, and his attendants sing songs while playing the koto and flute. In the Hashihime scene, Kaoru peeks at the older and younger daughters of Uji no Hachinomiya. The screen is believed to be the work of artists associated with Mitsunori (1583-1638), the son of Tosa Mitsuyoshi, who was active from the Momoyama period into the early Edo. It is an excellent painting on the Genji theme from the early modern era.