Illustrations of Moral Conduct Compared with the
Chapters of Genji
(Nazorae Genji
kyôkun zue)
Publisher: Maru-ya Jimpachi of Tôriabura-chô
c. 1843
The Tales of Genji (Genji monogatari) is the
greatest novel in classical Japanese literature, and arguably, the world’s
first novel. It was written in the first
decade of the eleventh century by Lady Murasaki, and relates the womanizing
exploits of Prince Genji. Each of the
fifty-four chapters of the novel is named and is associated with a crest called
a Genji-mon. Two different forms of the crests are
reproduced below. The title of this
series uses the teaching of morality and reference to classical literature as
pretexts to portray full-length pictures of beautiful women (bijin).
It is listed as number 80 in Kuniyoshi
by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961), and the
total number of prints is unknown. The
prints in this series are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a
size known as ôban.
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Chapter number: 3 Chapter name:
Utsusemi (Shell of Locust) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) with a
tobacco pipe watching a boy catch a cricket with a net NOTE:
Crickets were often kept in cages in order to enjoy the sound they produced |
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Chapter number: 10 Chapter name:
Sakaki (Sacred Tree) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) watching
falling maple leaves |
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Chapter number: 13 Chapter name:
Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) standing |
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Chapter number: 26 Chapter name:
Tokonatsu (Wild Carnations) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) kneeling
while eating soft rice balls (higan
dango) with tea |
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Chapter number: 41 Chapter name:
Maboroshi (The Wizard) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) leaning
against the outside wall of a buliding watching geese descend in front of a
full moon |
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Chapter number: 43 Chapter name:
Kôbai (The Rose Plum) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) on the
floor playing a picture-matching game with a child who is crawling over her |
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Chapter number: 51 Chapter name:
Ukifune (Boat on the Water) Scene:
Beautiful women (bijin) in the snow
holding an umbrella |
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