“An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliage” (Momiji no ga)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.These Genji album leaves were mounted as hanging scrolls. The calligraphic excerpt includes the title of Chapter 7, but the content concerns a different episode in the tale. In the picture, Genji and Tō no Chūjō perform the “Dance of the Blue Waves,” whereas in the text, Naishi, a lady-in-waiting, exchanges poetry with young Genji. The mismatched leaves might have resulted from the calligrapher and painter working independently.
Artwork Details
- 伝土佐光吉筆 源氏物語図色紙 「紅葉賀」
- Title: “An Imperial Celebration of Autumn Foliage” (Momiji no ga)
- Artist: Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi (Japanese, 1539–1613)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 17th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Album leaves mounted as a pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Image (Scroll .1 [calligraphy]): 9 3/4 × 8 7/16 in. (24.7 × 21.4 cm)
Overall with mounting (Scroll .1 [calligraphy]): 58 × 17 1/2 in. (147.3 × 44.5 cm)
Image (Scroll .2 [painting]): 9 3/4 × 8 7/16 in. (24.7 × 21.4 cm)
Overall with mounting (Scroll .2 [painting]): 58 × 17 1/2 in. (147.3 × 44.5 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Harvard Art Museums/ Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Hofer Collection of the Printed and Graphic Arts of Asia in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Paine
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art