Miniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on Waves

Miniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on Waves

Shibata Zeshin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The small boats that plied the misty waters of the Uji River often appear in Japanese classical literature as images of rusticity and human vulnerability. They are a potent and recurring motif in the later chapters of the Tale of Genji. This miniature is copied from a design by the Rimpa artist Kōetsu, who took such unmistakable literary references and distilled them into striking forms.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Miniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on WavesMiniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on WavesMiniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on WavesMiniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on WavesMiniature Inrō with Design of Firewood-laden Boats on Waves

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.