Taira no Kiyomori's Spectral Vision

Taira no Kiyomori's Spectral Vision

Utagawa Hiroshige

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The hubris embodied in the figure of Taira no Kiyomori (1118–1181) looms large in many medieval warrior tales. The death, conflict, and fiery destruction caused by his ambitions in the Hōgen and Heiji civil wars are ultimately resolved by his own horrifying death by fever during the Genpei War of 1180–85. Hiroshige depicted him as haunted, but uncowed, by his past deeds, surrounded by eerie skull forms in a snowy garden.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.