"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes

"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A horse race in autumn 1024 is the setting for this episode from the quasi-historical account of the life of Fujiwara Michinaga (966–1027), the great Heian-court statesman, imperial regent, and patron of the arts. As the race is about to begin, visitors of various courtly ranks make their way to the viewing stand. In addition to detailing the career of Michinaga, the Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga monogatari) is a chronicle of aristocratic life in Kyoto during the Heian period, with descriptions of rivalries, marriages, births, and deaths within the rarified atmosphere of the imperial court.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes

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.