Chapter XIV: IIlustrations of Genji @ Gotoh

Today I had the privilege of visiting the beautiful Gotoh museum in Tokyo. A private museum, the Gotoh is only open a few days a week -- and then, only for a few hours -- so I was lucky to get in. Although the museum has a large holding of Genji materials, unfortunately I missed the anniversary show that the museum had last year. Nonetheless, a few of the pieces were on display, and I was amazed by the pictures.

First, each of the pieces (at least in this collection) were only slightly larger than a large postage stamp. (!) We examined them in their glass cases through magnifying glasses, which is very strange, considering that many believed these minature masterpieces were created hundreds of years before this kind of technology was introduced to Japan. Another thing I found interesting was the timing of the illustrations: the holdings at Gotoh, which come from three different schools of art, represent the 1100s, 1300s and 1500s, respectively. Obviously, these come some time after Genji was originally written; and only one of the pictures I observed had any kind of writing. In other words, the original text of Genji probably did not contain any illustrations, and conversely many of the later illustrated versions did not contain the text.

I also found it interesting to learn that Genji was written not as a book, but as a scroll. In the novel itself, many of the characters communicate to one another by writing letters on scrolls, so it is not hard to think that is how Murasaki originally penned her story. Ladies in the Heian court often wrote stories for one another on these scrolls, which they would then put in the square, wooden boxes they used as pillows (see picture above). For this reason, Genji and other stories are known as "pillow books."

Maybe this is why Genji is so full of romance and intrigue. After all, we all enjoy a good story before going to sleep, don't we?

YOUR TASK:

1) Visit a local museum, either for art, nature or history. Record what you did and saw. How were the items displayed? Why do you think they were displayed that way?