- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Label
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In The Fake Murasaki Country Genji (Nise Murasaki inaka Genji), author Ryvtei Tanehiko (1783-1843) recast the famous narrative set in the imperial court of the Heian period (794-1185) in the Muromachi period (1392-1573). Shown here with his lover Tasogare, Mitsuuji, a fictional warrior of the Ashikaga lineage, had both martial and romantic skills. The implicit eroticism of this vertical diptych by Yoshitoshi led to a judgment by Meiji government censors that it was injurious to public morals. One of the objections was that one of Mitsuuji's hands is not visible. The artist is said to have responded that if everything is depicted, the flavor is lost. Despite the controversy it aroused, this print represents a high point in Yoshitoshi's artistic renderings of dramatic scenes in beautiful natural settings imbued with deep lyricism and human emotion.
- Published References
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- Ann Yonemura, et al. Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection. Seattle and Washington. cat. 128, pp. 310-311.
- Collection Area(s)
- Japanese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-7775_29