Tosa School Japanese Scene from a Courtly Tale, Possibly Tale of Genji

An original 17th-century painting – Tosa School, Japanese Scene from a Courtly Tale, Possibly Tale of Genji.

A delightful large Japanese Tosa School illustration, believed to date from the 17th century, hand drawn in ink, colour, gofun and gold on paper.

This is one of a series that we have for sale, depicting scenes illustrating a classical tale of courtly life—possibly the court romance 'Genji Monogatari', which inspired many Tosa School works. The composition and style of execution is very similar to other examples of Tosa School illustrations from the period, such as the tales of Tamamizu (Bodleian Library, Summary Catalogue 36838, 36839) and Hachikazuki (Minneapolis Institute of Art, acc. no. 2015.79.35.1). In each the narrative scene is punctuated by horizontal cloud motifs in blue and gold, which were commonly used to create a sense of artifice and symbolism, and to suggest a conflation of time and space within a limited pictorial field.

As is typical of the Tosa School, paint is applied in opaque layers with strong outlines. At the left, the wall has left off the building to expose the scene—and psychological drama—within (known in Tosa painting as 'blown-off roof' or 'fukinuki yatai'). Two women and a man can be seen interacting, but their faces, indicated by abbreviated strokes, are not individualised. The bright green foliage at the right is raised and textured using the Japanese technique 'moriage', involving a thick paste made of shell-white pigment (gofun). Areas of bright gold leaf bring shimmering texture to the composition.

The paper was evidently previously bound at its left edge, suggesting it was once part of a book or handscroll, likely with accompanying calligraphy text.