GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This scene represents episode 12 from the anonymous poetic narrative the Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari). In this vignette, a young man abducts a woman and they make their way to the Musashi Plain pursued by servants of the provincial governor, who are prepared to set fire to the plain to expose the hiding lovers. In response, the woman composes the following poem:
"Do not set fire today
To the Musashi Plain,
For my beloved
Is hidden here,
And so am I." [1]
TheTales of Ise, a classic of Japanese literature, was completed by the mid-10th century and, from around the 11th century on, treated in a variety of visual formats. In this painting, Tosa Mitsuyoshi has depicted the conventionalized motif of grasses associated with the Musashi Plain, which viewers familiar with the Tales of Ise would have quickly recognized.
[1] Helen Craig McCullough, Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-century Japan (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968), 78.
Drawn from
- Anne R. Bromberg, Dallas Museum of Art: Selected Works (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1983), 88.
- Helen Mitsu Nagata, "Images from the Tales of Ise," in Word and Flower (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1989), 54-83.
NOTES
Exhibition pending: East Meets West, DMA, 2005
Fun Fact Sources
-Yoshiyuki Nishio, "Examination Report," March 10, 1996, Collections Records object file 1971.16.A-B.
-Notes taken by Anna McFarland during examination of Japanese paintings in DMA collection on July 8, 1994 by Mr. Shinichi Miyajima, Chief Curator, Agency of Cultural Affairs, Tokyo, Collections Records object file 1971.16.A-B.
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1971: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, purchased from S. Yabumoto Co., Ltd., Tokyo [1]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the document titled "Collection: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts" in the Collections Records object file.
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
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WEB RESOURCES
- World Digital Library~See the earliest printed edition of the Tales of Ise.
- JAANUS~Learn more about the Tales of Ise in Japanese art.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- This painting was originally fusuma sliding doors.
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apply to objects where number equals 1971.96.A-B
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General Description
This scene represents episode 12 from the anonymous poetic narrative the Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari). In this vignette, a young man abducts a woman and they make their way to the Musashi Plain pursued by servants of the provincial governor, who are prepared to set fire to the plain to expose the hiding lovers. In response, the woman composes the following poem:
"Do not set fire today
To the Musashi Plain,
For my beloved
Is hidden here,
And so am I." [1]
TheTales of Ise, a classic of Japanese literature, was completed by the mid-10th century and, from around the 11th century on, treated in a variety of visual formats. In this painting, Tosa Mitsuyoshi has depicted the conventionalized motif of grasses associated with the Musashi Plain, which viewers familiar with the Tales of Ise would have quickly recognized.
[1] Helen Craig McCullough, Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-century Japan (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968), 78.
Drawn from
- Anne R. Bromberg, Dallas Museum of Art: Selected Works (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1983), 88.
- Helen Mitsu Nagata, "Images from the Tales of Ise," in Word and Flower (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1989), 54-83.
Fun Facts
- This painting was originally fusuma sliding doors.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- World Digital Library~See the earliest printed edition of the Tales of Ise.
- JAANUS~Learn more about the Tales of Ise in Japanese art.
Notes
Exhibition pending: East Meets West, DMA, 2005
Fun Fact Sources
-Yoshiyuki Nishio, "Examination Report," March 10, 1996, Collections Records object file 1971.16.A-B.
-Notes taken by Anna McFarland during examination of Japanese paintings in DMA collection on July 8, 1994 by Mr. Shinichi Miyajima, Chief Curator, Agency of Cultural Affairs, Tokyo, Collections Records object file 1971.16.A-B.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1971: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation, purchased from S. Yabumoto Co., Ltd., Tokyo [1]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the document titled "Collection: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts" in the Collections Records object file.
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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