Court Ladies among cherry trees (left); Cherry blossoms, a high fence and retainers (right)

The Tale of Genji is a lengthy fictional narrative written by Murasaki Shikibu in the eleventh century. Presumably drawing from her real experiences at court, Lady Murasaki crafted an intricate tale of the life and loves of the fictional Prince Genji, offering broader, strongly Buddhist-influenced reflections on karmic cycles, the futility of desire, and the melancholy passage of life.

Illustrated versions of the tale began to appear in the twelfth century and were generally codified by the seventeenth century. These screens refer to the "Asagao" (Morning glory) chapter, in which Prince Genji visits the quarters of Princess Asagao, whom he has unsuccessfully pursued in the past, and is again adroitly spurned by the princess. The attendants depicted waiting outside a fence and parked carriages are references to Genji's visit to the princess. Although subtle, these visual hints had long been standard in illustrated versions of The Tale of Genji and were enough to remind the literate Japanese viewer of this episode.

Only a small portion of the total composition in the two screens is actually devoted to a recognizable narrative, in contrast to the dominance of two large masses of form-a curving ground line in the left screen and an angular, diagonal fence in the right screen. These may be attempts by the painter to suggest the conflicting emotions of the described encounter-the prince's hopeful arrival and his subsequent rejection.