The Illustrated Tale of Genji

Yamamoto Shunshō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

For centuries, The Tale of Genji circulated in manuscript copies limited to members of the social elite. The classic became more widely known starting only in the early Edo period (1615–1868), as texts of the entire tale, digests, and handbook-style synopses were printed, first in movable-type editions and then in more affordable woodblock-printed versions. One of the earliest mass-produced editions to include woodblock-printed illustrations was this multivolume version, first published in about 1650. The Kyoto- and sometimes Edo-based Yamamoto Shunshō, best known as a waka poet and lacquer artist, produced the designs for the woodblock prints, which in many cases adhered to the standardized Tosa canon for Genji pictures, but in others diverged from traditional iconography.

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