Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji

Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This robe exemplifies the exquisitely embroidered and dyed robes made in the late Edo period for high-ranking samurai ladies, especially in daimyo households. They came to be referred to as “imperial court style” garments, as the landscapes and seasonal plants combine with motifs referencing Noh plays, poems, or classical literature such as The Tale of Genji to evoke aristocratic life in the Heian period. The motifs consist of pines, plum and cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, maple leaves, reeds, clouds, rocks, and streams. The stylized landscapes include spring patterns, a half-moon, and autumn flowers. The scene showing the Nonomiya shrine on the back of the right sleeve is from Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreens.” On the right of the lower section, the depiction of the koto refers to the best-known scene of Chapter 2, “Broom Cypress”—the so-called “appraisal of women on a rainy night” episode.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Summer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of GenjiSummer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of GenjiSummer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of GenjiSummer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of GenjiSummer Robe (Katabira) with Seasonal Landscapes and Scenes from The Tale of Genji

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.