“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)

“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” 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

The woman on a beach, halberd in hand, is Tamaori-hime, wife of Atsumori, a heroic figure from the early fourteenth-century epic narrative Tale of the Heike. The handscroll cartouche above bears the name “Suma,” the title of Chapter 12 of The Tale of Genji. That chapter recounts Genji’s exile to the Suma coast, where he yearns for his life at court and his consort Murasaki. The connection between the Genji chapter and Tamaori is clearly the seaside setting, and it draws a parallel between Tamaori’s grief at her separation from Atsumori and Murasaki mourning the absence of Genji.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” from the series Scenes amid Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures (Genji-gumo ukiyo e-awase)“‘Exile to Suma’ (Suma): Tamaori-hime,” 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.