“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

At night a handsome young warrior slides beneath a tent’s mosquito net to kill the man who murdered his father, but finds no one there. He is Soga Gorō Tokimune, one of two brothers determined to avenge their father’s death. The Soga brothers’ story, a popular theme in Japanese culture, gave rise to Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theater pieces as well as prints by ukiyo-e artists. Here, a parallel is drawn between Gorō’s actions and those of Genji in Chapter 3, “A Molted Cicada Shell,” in which Genji invades Utsusemi’s sleeping chamber but finds that she has vanished and left behind her thin summer robe.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘A Molted Cicada Shell’ (Utsusemi): Soga Gorō Tokimune,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

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.