“Broom Cypress” (Hahakigi)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This remarkable screen depicts a story within a story told to a seventeen-year-old Genji one rainy night. The cautionary tale describes a brazen woman who flaunted her skills on the koto, demonstrating that in some cases a woman can be too alluring.
A spectacular koto stands in for the seductive woman. Notice its details: the wood grain, the thirteen bridges with notched tops to secure the gold strings, the motifs of sandbars and flying geese that suggest inlaid mother-of-pearl. The sliding doors of the room might allude to a folk song mentioned in the anecdote. Bordered by colorful brocade and fitted with paulownia-crest door handles, they bear paintings of rice planting in watery fields as well as figures pouring sake and singing songs for a rich harvest.
A spectacular koto stands in for the seductive woman. Notice its details: the wood grain, the thirteen bridges with notched tops to secure the gold strings, the motifs of sandbars and flying geese that suggest inlaid mother-of-pearl. The sliding doors of the room might allude to a folk song mentioned in the anecdote. Bordered by colorful brocade and fitted with paulownia-crest door handles, they bear paintings of rice planting in watery fields as well as figures pouring sake and singing songs for a rich harvest.
Artwork Details
- 源氏物語図屏風 「帚木」
- Title: “Broom Cypress” (Hahakigi)
- Period: Momoyama period (1573–1615)
- Date: late 16th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, gold, and gold leaf on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 58 1/16 in. × 10 ft. 7 3/4 in. (147.5 × 324.5 cm)
- Classification: Screens
- Credit Line: Lent by a private collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art