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Prayer for Genji (Genji kōshiki)

Copied by Yasojima Sukezaemon Japanese
17th–18th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Prayer for Genji cleverly interweaves all fifty-four chapter titles with verses meant to reveal the tale’s inherent Buddhist meaning. It concludes with the hope that Murasaki Shikibu will escape the cycle of rebirth and that her words will be transformed into hymns of praise for the Buddha. Here, designs of a butterfly and two deer standing amid autumn grasses are printed in shimmering mica on colorful dyed papers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 伝八十島助左衛門写　源氏講式
  • Title: Prayer for Genji (Genji kōshiki)
  • Artist: Copied by Yasojima Sukezaemon (Japanese)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 17th–18th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Thread-bound book; ink on five-colored paper with mica-printed designs
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 7/8 × 7 1/4 in. (25.1 × 18.4 cm)
  • Classification: Illustrated Books
  • Credit Line:

    Lent by Harvard Art Museums/ Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia

  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art