Genji’s World in Japanese Woodblock Prints

The Tale of Genji, written in the eleventh century by the Japanese court lady Murasaki Shikibu, has greatly influenced Japanese culture, from novels and kabuki performances to today’s manga and animé. That influence can be clearly seen in the works in this exhibition, which featured a rich array of fifty-seven woodblock prints by many of Japan’s leading eighteenth- and nineteenth-century artists. They vividly depict the fictional poet, politician, and lover Prince Genji and his world of the imperial court. They also present the life and times of the fictional nineteenth-century hero Mitsuuji, featured in the popular serial narrative The Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki. The exhibition was drawn from the Scripps College collection and the collection of Genji prints belonging to Jack and Paulette Lantz, considered one of the finest.

The exhibition was organized by the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College, Claremont, California, and was accompanied by a fully illustrated book. The exhibition at the Loeb benefited from the support of the Evelyn Metzger Exhibition Fund. There are works that appeared in this exhibition that were loans to the Loeb and therefore do not appear on this website.