Closed | Mondays, except 11/23, and closed on 11/24 |
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Hours | 10 am to 5 pm (entrance closed at 4:30 pm) |
General admission |
Adult 1000 yen, Student 800 yen |
Garrely | 1/2 |
Telling a tale in pictures has long been a source of delight. So compelling are pictured tales that, for example, the first written reference to The Tales of Ise, which occurs in The Tale of Genji, mentions an illustrated handscroll version, not the book itself. Of course, paintings telling The Tale of Genji also began to appear almost as soon as Murasaki Shikibu put down her brush. During Japan’s middle ages, tales were depicted exclusively in small-scale formats such as handscrolls, books, and poem papers. In the early modern period, however, they began to become the subjects of folding screens, a much larger format. Tales told in pictures expanded into imposing pieces decorating interiors.
This exhibition brings together pictured tales, depictions of a great variety of narratives, in a wide range of forms. The tales range from Heian court literature, including The Tales of Ise and The Tale of Genji, through military epics such as The Tale of the Heike and The Tale of the Soga Brothers, The Tale of Saigyō, a biography of a monk-poet, and short stories such as “The Tale of Shutendōji.” Enjoy the last of the autumn season with these combinations of tales and pictures.
To download exhibition catalogue, please click here.