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Course: Art of Asia > Unit 4
Lesson 11: Edo period (1615–1868)- Edo period, an introduction
- Tea bowl with dragon roundels
- Scenes from The Tale of Genji
- Genji Ukifune
- Dog chasing
- A portrait of St. Francis Xavier and Christianity in Japan
- Ogata Kōrin, Red and White Plum Blossoms
- Hon’ami Kōetsu, Folding Screen mounted with poems
- Archery practice
- The evolution of ukiyo-e and woodblock prints
- Utagawa Kunisada I, Visiting Komachi, from the series Modern Beauties as the Seven Komachi
- Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
- Beyond the Great Wave — Hokusai at 90
- Hokusai’s printed illustrated books
- Hokusai, Five Beautiful Women
- The Floating World of Edo Japan
- Hunting for fireflies
- Street scene in the pleasure quarter of Edo Japan
- Courtesan playing with a cat
- Courtesans of the South Station
- An introduction to Kabuki theater
- The actor Ichikawa Danzo IV in a Shibaraku role
- Fire procession costume
- Arrival of a Portuguese ship
- Matchlock gun and pistol
- Military camp jacket
- Military leader's fan
- An American ship
- The steamship Powhatan
- Conserving the Gan Ku Tiger scroll painting at the British Museum
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Genji Ukifune
Kabuki scholar Laurence Kominz discusses a woodblock print of a Kabuki actor and courtesan depicted in a scene from the famous Japanese epic The Tale of Genji. Created by Asian Art Museum.
Want to join the conversation?
wow kidnapping her and then taking her on "dangerous" boat ride just to woe her doesn't sound very attractive if you ask me(6 votes)
It's spelt "woo". Woeing her would be saddening her. Wooing her is trying to win her affection.(1 vote)
I don't get it why did he kidnap her? was it so they can have a picnic?(0 votes)
NO, he was jelous of Rama's strength , so he wanted Rama to give up.(0 votes)
Video transcript
this print is a fanciful and imaginative metate suggesting an erotic scene from Japan's greatest novel The Tale of Genji Lawrence Coleman's a metate print like the one we're looking at now encourages viewers to reinterpret a classic work by imagining a well-known and sexy star together with a beautiful courtesan in the original scene from the novel written around 1000 CE II a handsome prince abducts an aristocratic girl and takes her on a dangerous boat ride to try to woo her a poem on the print refers to a passage in the tale in this parody retelling a star of the Kabuki stage plays the prince the young man is on a party excursion with his beloved we see a pitcher of sake a sake cup and a tray of food in the boat his companion in the print is not an aristocratic girl but a courtesan her Obi sash is tied elaborately in front and so we have a professional couple engaging in a very playful love experience that combination of fabulous artistry and playfulness is a hallmark of Edo culture it's true on the Kabuki stage as well incredible artistry on stage to create some of the most vulgar and wild and crazy' dramatic situations you could imagine but the artistry is always first-rate that's what I love about Edo culture it's that combination you