Mon, May 15, 2023

Four major emaki (illustrated handscrolls) of Japan to come together in ‘Yamato-e’

Important Cultural Property
**Detached Segment of Illustrated Scroll of Diary of Lady Murasaki** (detail)
Kamakura period, 13th century
Tokyo National Museum

The area we call Nara Prefecture today was the Yamato Province in ancient times. And because the political and cultural center was there, using the word Yamato was the way to refer to Japan as a whole. Together with the word e (picture), the compound (yamato-e) can be translated literally as “Japanese painting.” Historically, yamato-e refers to a genre of painting which thrived during the Heian period (8th-12th century) and featured Japanese subject matter (nature, literature, history, etc.) as opposed to themes imported from Tang dynasty China and elsewhere.

Important Cultural Property
**Pine Trees on Seashore** (detail)
Muromachi period, 15th-16th century
Tokyo National Museum

Special Exhibition
Yamato-e: Traditions of Beauty from the Imperial Court
Oct 11 (Wed) – Dec 3 (Sun), 2023
Tokyo National Museum
(Ueno Park, Tokyo)
*See outline below for more info

“Yamato-e: Traditions of Beauty from the Imperial Court,” a special exhibition scheduled to run at the Tokyo National Museum this fall (Oct. 11-Dec. 3, 2023), will put together yamato-e masterpieces gathered from museums and temples across Japan to give visitors a grand overview of the genre. Most notably, Japan’s four major emaki (illustrated handscrolls) — namely, the “Illustrated Handscrolls of The Tale of Genji,” “Frolicking Animals and Humans,” “Tale of the Courtier Ban Dainagon” and “Legends of Mt. Shigi” — will come together for the first time in 30 years in this exhibition, although for a limited period of time (Oct. 11-22). All four emaki are designated national treasures of Japan.

National Treasure
**Scroll of the Nezame Monogatari** (detail)
Heian period, 12th century
The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara
(On display: Nov. 7-19)

What’s more, the three yamato-e portrait paintings of Jingo-ji temple (Kyoto) — those said to have depicted Minamoto no Yoritomo (founder of the Kamakura shogunate), Fujiwara no Mitsuyoshi (Heian-period court noble) and Taira no Shigemori (son of Taira or Heike clan patriarch Taira no Kiyomori) — and the three renowned decorated sutras — Heike nokyo (donated by Taira no Kiyomori in 1164; Itsukushima-jinja shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture), Jiko-ji kyo (13th century; Jiko-ji temple in Saitama Prefecture) and Kuno-ji kyo (12th century) — all of which are designated national treasures, will also be highlighted in this exhibition.