Books and Cards

Reisai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This limited-edition New Year's greeting card (surimono) has a playful, symbolic-laden composition. The image shows a set of woodblock-printed books, the Kogessho, which is an annotated edition of the Tale of Genji published around 1673. Next to it, scattered playing cards depict two chapters from the Tale of Genji: the Kobai (Rose Plum) and the Wakamurasaki (Lavender), both illustrated with not only their usual pictorial depictions, but "Genji-crests" (Genji-mon) as well. The two chapters are related to the incense culture and the Genji-crest is a symbol used in the Genji-ko incense game. The poem on the print mentions the two chapters and the dawn of the New Year in Edo. Classical literature, incense, poetry, and the traditions of the incense game are all captured in one composition.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art