A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari)

Unidentified artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This set of illustrated handscrolls (emaki), with the narrative progressing from right to left, tells of an amorous affair between a Buddhist monk and a younger male acolyte (chigo), a genre of story popular in medieval Japan. Here, after the tragic suicide of the chigo, the monk renounces carnal pleasure and attains salvation. In 2011 the Museum acquired the missing final section of this scroll, which had earlier been remounted as a hanging scroll.

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