Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)

Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)

Chōbunsai Eishi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Two women and a girl play with a kitten. The beach at Suma, with boats sailing in Osaka Bay, is visible beyond the open shōji, the veranda, and a stand of pines. A design of fishnets adorns the kimono of the central figure. This left-hand sheet from a print triptych recasts the episode of Genji’s exile in Suma with stylish ladies in Edo-period clothing in place of the male companions who accompanied the protagonist in the tale. The artist, Chōbunsai Eishi, born into a high-ranking samurai family, would have been familiar with such up-to-date fashions worn by Edo’s social elite.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)

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.