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Iconographic Analysis

The function of these scrolls is to provide illustrations to the Tales of Genji, which is one of Japan’s most well-known stories and is regarded as the first novel in the world. It supports the story with a scroll for either groups of chapters, or even a single chapter to one scroll. Sometimes, one chapter can be divided into two scrolls, such as the Azumaya chapter.

The Azumaya chapter’s first scroll depicts an interior scene; purposefully skewing the perspective and removing the roof to set the scene like a stage so each character’s action is projected and obvious. In the first part of the chapter depicted on the scroll, a character named Nakanokimi sits and has her hair washed and brushed by a lady in waiting. Nakanokimi is facing away from the viewer. The way she’s placed is deliberate; “By contemplating her image from behind, the viewer is invited to share her thoughts about Ukifune” (Wantanabe 119). Ukifune is her half-sister and daughter of the Eighth Prince. In context of the chapter, her thoughts about Ukifune refer to her late parents and how much she looks like them. The ladies leaning into the frame aren’t actual characters in the story, but in the painting, they could be ladies in waiting representing the viewer or reader listening in on the story.

The Azumaya chapter’s second scroll depicts a more dramatic scene. The scene is divided in half by a wall, separating the interior and exterior of Ukifune’s house. Outside sits Kaoru, Genji’s adopted son. He is in romantic pursuit of Ukifune, who is pictured on the inside of the house. She is lying face down on the floor, meaning she is hesitant to let him inside. The ladies around her encourage her to pursuit Kaoru, since they’re charmed by him themselves. Though, these ladies also are symbolic to Kaoru’s desire towards her, getting closer as he wins her over.

Azumaya II

Azumaya I

Formal Analysis

Historical Analysis

In these two frames, it illustrates one chapter in the Tales of Genji. The chapter is titled “Azumaya”. In “Azumaya I (The Eastern Cottage)”, the scene takes place indoors, with women scattered through the space of the painting. The room seems to be connected to a bigger house, shown by the hallway extending back into the top part of the painting. The wall furthest to the right in the painting leads to the exterior of the house, emphasized by the plants and the dirt.

Each woman in the painting is doing something different. For a couple, it’s hard to tell exactly what they’re doing because of the wear on the painting, but the woman closest to the middle is reading. Given the fact that the Tales were written about and for the Heian court (best known for their art and literature), she’s probably reading poetry. At the bottom left, there’s a woman posed with a cloak like the one she’s wearing, so she looks as if she’s sewing. There’s another woman that appears to be in the hallway in the top left, and she’s holding what appears to be a quill. It’s a bit unclear to see exactly what she’s doing, but she could either be drawing or writing. At the right of the painting, there are two women standing next to a standing screen. One of the women is facing the viewer, while the other is turned toward the screen so all that’s shown is the side of her face from the back. It’s also unclear what they’re doing due to the wear and tear of the painting, but one woman is leaning into the screen that divides the room.

The second image shows the side of a house, with a man sitting outside facing a door, and a group of woman on the inside. The man facing the door looks as if he’s trying to come in, or waiting for someone at the door to greet him. The women inside aren’t facing the direction of the door, none of them wanting to go toward it. One of the women has a hand held up to her mouth, almost as if she’s worried or shocked by something. Another woman is peering out from a small gap in the sliding doors she’s standing behind. The third woman is shown in a profile view, facing away from the wall that the man is on the other side of.

Due to the “hikime kagibana” technique, all the faces in the paintings are minimal, signifying nobility. The faces are drawn in a very simplistic way, using only lines for eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth comprised of a few dots. This technique also extends to the rest of the body, hiding arms and legs under big robes, and using minimal gestures.

The colors used are minimal, consistent with using green, red, gold, black, and white. This limited color scheme could be due to the limited resources.

The time period the Tales of Genji scrolls are from is the Heian period. It spanned from 794-1185 BC. The capital had just moved from Nara to Heiankyo, also known as modern day Kyoto. The move allowed emperors to escape the political power of Confucian authorities and Buddhist monks. From there, “with so much leisure, many of [the Heian courtiers] developed highle refined tastes in the arts and became known for their extreme aestheticism” (O’Riley 116). This allowed many artists to flourish and become a crucial part to history. Among these artists came musicians and writers. Lady Murasaki, a lady in waiting for the court of Teishi (an empress-consort), got inspiration from her experiences and wrote the Tales of Genji. This is regarded as the world’s first novel, and became one of the most popular stories in Japan. It’s still read and interpreted in modern times. The novel depicted life as a courtier in the Heian period. It became so well-known and read that it was developed into paintings. These paintings were made on scrolls, as they were in Japan at that time, and they were in the style of Yamato-e (traditional Japanese style). The chapters were separated into sections; some are grouped together and portrayed in one scroll, or divided and each scroll is its own chapter. Sometimes, the chapters got two scrolls, such as the Azumaya chapter. In total, there are twenty-four scrolls illustrating fifty four chapters.

These paintings were meant to be viewed alongside reading the story, unfolding the events as the reader stops to pick apart the details in each painting.

Overall, the tales were an echo to the pleasures of life, specifically those enjoyed amongst the courtiers of the Heian period. They indulged in the arts, and it resulted in one of the most iconic stories in history.

Kampen-O'Riley, Michael. "Japan and Korea." Art beyond the West: The Arts of the Islamic World, India and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea, the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. 116-17. Print.

Mason, Penelope E. “The House-Bound Heart. The Prose-Poetry Genre of Japanese Narrative Illustration.” Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 35, no. 1, 1980, pp. 21–43., www.jstor.org/stable/2384398.

Soper, Alexander C. “The Illustrative Method of the Tokugawa ‘Genji’ Pictures.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 37, no. 1, 1955, pp. 1–16., www.jstor.org/stable/3047589.

Watanabe, Masako. “Narrative Framing in the ‘Tale of Genji Scroll’: Interior Space in the Compartmentalized Emaki.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 58, no. 1/2, 1998, pp. 115–145., www.jstor.org/stable/3249997.

Bibliography

Genji Monogatari Emaki:

Tales of Genji Scrolls

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