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Genji’s World in Japanese Woodblock Prints

Utagawa Kunisada, “Seven” (Shichi), from the series His Figure: Related Copies of Other Pictures (Sono sugata yukari no utsushi-e), 1850, ink on paper, horizontal oban. Scripps College, Claremont, CA, gift of Paulette and Jack Lantz.
Morikami Museum - Delray Beach
By Denise Colson
This exhibition, organized by Scripps College (Claremont, Cal.), features more than 50 woodblock prints and books depicting scenes from The Tale of Genji, the world’s first novel. Written over 1,000 years ago by the Japanese court lady Murasaki Shikibu for an audience of aristocratic women, it is considered perhaps the greatest work of classical Japanese literature. Imagery associated with the tale was first featured in paintings, especially scroll paintings in the 12th century, and then followed in Japanese prints beginning in the 17th century. The Tale of Genji has notably influenced Japanese culture until today, as it has been the inspiration for paintings, operas, movies, short stories, manga and anime.
In the 19th century, The Tale of Genji appeared sporadically as a motif in popular woodblock prints. It was another Genji-related story that became popular, the serial novel A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki. Its creators, writer Ryūtei Tanehiko, print designer and book illustrator Utagawa Kunisada and publisher Tsuruya Kiemon did not envision that they were generating a new genre in Japanese woodblock prints that would flourish until the end of the century. For almost 60 years, thousands of original designs were created, and most of them became very popular. Featured in this exhibition is a rich array of artworks by many of Japan’s leading print artists. Through May 18, 2014.
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