鳥文斎栄之画　「風流やつし源氏　須磨」|Genji in Exile at Suma, from the series Genji in Fashionable Modern Guise (Fūryū yatsushi Genji: Suma)

Chōbunsai Eishi

ca. 1791–92 · Left sheet of a triptych of woodblocks; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Two women and a girl play with a kitten. The beach at Suma, with boats sailing in Osaka Bay, is visible beyond the open shōji, the veranda, and a stand of pines. A design of fishnets adorns the kimono of the central figure. This left-hand sheet from a print triptych recasts the episode of Genji’s exile in Suma with stylish ladies in Edo-period clothing in place of the male companions who accompanied the protagonist in the tale. The artist, Chōbunsai Eishi, born into a high-ranking samurai family, would have been familiar with such up-to-date fashions worn by Edo’s social elite.

Artist

Chōbunsai Eishi

Date

ca. 1791–92

Medium

Left sheet of a triptych of woodblocks; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929