Tale Of Genji Hand Scrolls Essay

Arguably the greatest work produced during the Heian era was The Tale of Genji hand scrolls. Throughout the centuries, The Tale of Genji has been a fascination subject of illustration and even films and anime. Considered to be the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji was written to accurately show Heian court life. The hand scrolls are still a major influence on Japanese art today. The Tale of Genji scrolls depict the first sixteen chapters of the Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikubu, a Japanese noble-woman, in the early eleventh century (Tale of Genji Scrolls). The novel tells of the life of Prince Genji, the son of the emperor. Although the novel was fictional, the Tale of Genji is said to be an accurate representation of the lives of nobles in the Heian period (Tale of Genji Scrolls).

Tale of Genji hand scrolls were painted in the late Heian period by several unknown artists (source). It is unknown if the entire piece was ever completed as many of the scrolls have been lost or destroyed over time. It is also thought that the completion of the scrolls was an ongoing centuries-long process (source). Many of the scrolls have been separated for conservation purposes and are considered a great Japanese National treasure.

The Genji Scrolls were possibly created over several centuries by many generations of artists (Source). Court appointed painters may have been the artists to keep the Tale of Genji paintings going. In the Edo period when the work was finished, most people knew of the novel. Artists continued to paint The Tale of Genji hand scrolls in the Yamato-e tradition of the Heian-period that the original pictures were