Artist: unknown
Title: Genji Monogatari. Chapter 36 -- Kashiwagi II, Genji's son, Yugiri,
visits his dying frien Kashiwagi
Material: ink and color paper.
Site:
Current Location: Tokugawa Museum.
Period/Date: Heian Jidai
Iconography/Iconology:
Stylistic Comments: In this composition the "blown-away roof"
compositional convention provides the viewer an angle from above, looking
down at the action as if the roof of the building had simply been lifted
away. Yugiri and Kashiwagi are seen in the center of the composition. The
intense sorrow of Yugiri is indicated by the angle of his bent head as he
looks down at his dying friend. The distraught women behind the screen of
state (to protect the privacy of Yugiri and Kashiwagi from the gaze of lower
rank individuals), in the lower right corner of the painting, also show
their emotion through their body postures and head positions rather than
facial expressions. At the right is a folding screen, or byobu, with
a landscape painting, in a manner similar to how a screen would have been
used in the court environment.
Another characteristic feature of the Genji style, partcularly apparent
in this scene is the use of opaque paint applied in thick layers.
