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“The Oak Tree”

late 16th–early 17th century
Not on view
This scene from Chapter 36 of The Tale of Genji shows Tō no Chūjō conferring with an ascetic summoned to heal his ailing son, Kashiwagi, lying in the adjacent room. Unbeknownst to them, Kashiwagi’s illness derives from remorse over his illicit affair with Genji’s wife, the Third Princess. This delicate image bears hallmarks of works by Tosa Mitsuyoshi. Many of the small-scale Genji paintings from the Muromachi period (1392–1573) through the early Edo period (1615–1868) were executed by painters of the hereditary Tosa school, who monopolized the court-sanctioned position of painting bureau director. In the late sixteenth century, Tosa artists transformed Genji pictures from intimate paintings to large-scale works. In the Momoyama period, maki-e artists also used Tosa and Kano paintings to draw inspiration for their compositions depicted on export lacquers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 土佐光吉筆　源氏物語図色紙　「柏木」
  • Title: “The Oak Tree”
  • Artist: Tosa Mitsuyoshi (Japanese, 1539–1613)
  • Period: Momoyama period (1573–1615)
  • Date: late 16th–early 17th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 3/4 × 8 3/16 in. (24.7 × 20.8 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 54 5/16 × 15 1/2 in. (138 × 39.4 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 54 5/16 × 17 1/4 in. (138 × 43.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.31
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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“Mistflowers”, Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese, Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on paper, Japan
“Mistflowers”
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
late 16th–early 17th century
“Butterflies”, Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
“Butterflies”
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
late 16th–early 17th century
“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki), Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese, Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Returned to lender
“Little Purple Gromwell” (Wakamurasaki)
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
early 17th century
Tale of Genji Chapter Books: Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreen” (Sakaki), Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese, Thread-bound manuscript book with painted covers; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Returned to lender
Tale of Genji Chapter Books: Chapter 10, “A Branch of Sacred Evergreen” (Sakaki)
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
Saionji Shōkō
early 17th century
“Butterflies” (Kōchō), Tosa Mitsuyoshi Japanese, From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Returned to lender
“Butterflies” (Kōchō)
Tosa Mitsuyoshi
Reizei Tameyori
1612

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