Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji

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About the Artwork

This folding screen illustrates a location in The Tale of Genji, a favorite work of literature in Japan for more than a thousand years — and still popular today. Written by the Japanese noblewoman Lady Murasaki in 1021 and considered the world’s first novel, the story focuses on the life and many love affairs of Prince Hikaru Genji, seen on the right, wearing white and seated on a dark green mat.

The screen painting represents Genji’s Rokujo estate, where he built seasonal gardens and living quarters for four of his romantic partners. Genji sits with his favorite, Lady Murasaki — wearing gold-adorned robes — in her spring garden. This space includes its own sets of folding screens.

At left, Lady Hanachirusato sits in her pavilion in her summer garden. The decoration of her robe resonates with the object she holds — a folding fan, to keep her cool in the hot summer air.

Though Japanese folding screens typically appear in pairs, the location of the companion to this screen is not known. It almost certainly would have represented the autumn and winter gardens of Genji’s estate.

Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji

17th century

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Japanese

Japanese

Six-panel folding screen; ink, color paint, and gold on paper

Overall (fully open): 67 × 141 inches (170.2 cm × 3 m 58.1 cm) Installed (with 40" wide angles.): 67 × 121 3/4 × 14 1/4 inches (170.2 × 309.2 × 36.2 cm)

Paintings

Asian Art

City of Detroit Purchase

27.541

Public Domain

Markings

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Provenance

(Yamanaka and Co., Ltd., New York, New York, USA);
1927-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 44, no. 3 (1965): pp. 55-57 (ill.).

Nihon Byobu-e Shuseil 5. Tokyo, 1980, no. 137 (color ill.).

Abe, Akio, Ken Akiyama, Gene Imai, Hideo Suzuki, eds. Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), Japanese Classics. Tokyo, 1985, foreword (ill.).

DIA Picture Book: The Art of India, China, and Japan. Detroit, 1946, p. 28

Watanabe, Masako. “The Samurai and Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji).” Bulletin of the DIA 88, no. 1/4 (2014): pp. 56, 64, 67-68 (fig. 10).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Japanese, Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji, 17th century, six-panel folding screen; ink, color paint, and gold on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 27.541.

Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji: Main View of Collection Gallery
Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji: 1 of Collection Gallery Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji: 2 of Collection Gallery Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji: 3 of Collection Gallery
Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji
Spring and Summer Palace Gardens, from The Tale of Genji