Title : The Third Princess from the Tale of Genji (Princess Sannomiya)

Artist : Suzuki Harunobu

Date : 1766 c.

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : This scene illustrates the beginning of the thirty-fourth chapter of The Tale of Genji, titled "New Herbs" (Wakana). Appropriate subject matter for an ukiyo-e bijinga ("picture of beautiful women"), the Third Princess, who in the original text merely peeks out from behind a bamboo curtain (misu), now clearly presents herself in full view. In this springtime scene, the young princess Sannomiya has just retrieved her cat. The cherry blossoms that appear white in the background were originally printed in a pale blue pigment that has faded over time. The combination of soft pastel colors recalls the traditional Yamato-e style of painting, providing a sense of classicism in keeping the ancient literary subject. Unlike earlier examples of woodblock-printed illustrations for books, this image was made as a single sheet print without any text. This meant that the viewer had to be familiar with the symbolic items in the picture identifying the story: the cat, the bamboo curtain, and the cherry blossoms. (Feb 2011) **** This scene illustrates the beginning of the thirty-fourth chapter of The Tale of Genji titled “New Herbs” (Wakana). Appropriate subject matter for an ukiyo-e bijinga (picture of beautiful women), the Third Princess, who in the original text merely peeks out from behind a bamboo curtain (misu ), now clearly presents herself in full view. In this springtime scene, the young princess Sannomiya has just retrieved her cat. The cherry blossoms that appear white in the background were originally printed in a pale blue pigment that has faded over time. The use of soft pastel colors and their combination recall the traditional Yamato-e style of painting. Unlike earlier examples of Moronobu's book illustrations, this image was made as a single sheet print without any text. This meant that the viewer had to be familiar with the symbolic items in the picture signifying what story is depicted here: the cat, the bamboo curtain, and the cherry blossoms are the keys to identifying this scene. (from Tale of Genji exhibition 1/11/2006-) .................................. This scene is an illustration from the thirty-fourth chapter of The Tale of Genji ; the young princess Sannomiya has just retrieved her cat. The presence of cherry blossoms in the upper left corner indicates that the season is spring. The seals in the lower right corner are those of two past owners of the print, Nadeshiko-sono and Fukuda Bunko. (from Summer Evenings: Harunobu exhibition 5/30/06-)

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