Pop
From the initial success of its first publication to the contemporary day, The Tale of Genji has enriched the artistic traditions of Japan. As Dr. Andrew Watsky pithily summarizes, “Anywhere you cut Japanese culture, you hit The Tale of Genji.” Painted 800 years after the Tale was written, Bryn Mawr’s Osanobu screen is a striking example of the Tale’s lasting influence, but so too are the many examples seen in these cases. From artworks commissioned by the imperial and Shogunal courts to the popular visual culture of the Edo-period (1603–1868) and contemporary day, The Tale of Genji has continued to shape the visual vocabulary, poetics, and aesthetic sensibilities of the arts of Japan.
