「風流やつし源氏　朝顔」|Bellflowers (Asagao), from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Asagao)

Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之

1789–92 · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

In this “modernization” of Chapter 20, “Bellflowers,” Genji’s unsuccessful pursuit of Princess Asagao is given an Edo-period setting. The palace interior teems with stylish women, and Genji and Asagao are shown exchanging poems; in the tale, they do so only through intermediaries. The figures, tall and slender with refined features, are characteristic of Chōbunsai Eishi’s prints and paintings. As in other prints from this series of triptychs, the colors are limited, in this case to gray-blue, yellow, and a touch of green. In this respect they conform to the technique of beni-girai, or “avoiding red,” fashionable in the late 1700s.

Artist

Chōbunsai Eishi 鳥文斎栄之

Date

1789–92

Medium

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1929