Picture Scrolls
Paintings and text written on a scroll as a way of developing a story
Picture scrolls (emaki or emakimono) are an art form where an artist paints pictures on a horizontal scroll and a calligrapher adds text to explain the paintings, all in order to tell a story. This art form thus blends art and literature. The stories used for picture scrolls are primarily such genres as tales from the past, legends, the foundings of temples and shrines, and works of literature. The oldest extant picture scroll is The Tale of Genji Scroll (a national treasure, presently held by the Tokugawa Art Museum), created in the late Heian period (the first half of the twelfth century). We thus can surmise that already by that time, aristocrats were creating and appreciating picture scrolls drawing on The Tale of Genji, a work written in the first half of the tenth century. Late in the Heian period, and especially during the lifetime of Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192), who actively encouraged the production of picture scrolls, artists produced many masterful picture scrolls that have come down to us today. Some outstanding examples are Legends of the Founding of the Temple on Mt. Shigi, Tale of the Great Minister Ban, Picture Scroll of Annual Events, and Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans. During the Kamakura period (13th and 14th centuries), picture scrolls were created in even greater numbers, and their topics and modes of expression showed greater variety. Some outstanding examples of the age include the battle scrolls The Tale of Heiji and Battles of the Past Nine Years, the court literature scrolls The Diary of Lady Murasaki Scroll and The Sumiyoshi Tale Scroll, and the temple and shrine foundation scrolls Legends of Kitano Tenjin Shrine and Miracles of the Kasuga Deity. During the Northern and Southern Courts period (14th century) and the Muromachi period (15th and 16th centuries), the Ashikaga shogunal house joined aristocrats and Buddhist temples in producing picture scrolls. While up to this time the class of producers and consumers expanded gradually, in later periods picture scrolls became mass produced and came to be appreciated by a wide general audience. In the Edo period (17th to mid-19th centuries), picture scrolls were even produced using movable type, an example being Record of the Imperial Visit of the Kan'ei Era, which depicts Emperor Go-Mizunoo's visit to Nijo Castle.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Related Works
E-maki (illustrated scrolls) in the Heian period (794-1185)
E-maki in the Kamakura period (1185-1333)
E-maki in the Nanboku-cho, Muromachi, and Azuchi-Momoyama periods (1337-1603)
E-maki in the Edo period (1603-1868)
Videos
Past Exhibitions
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Institutions Holding Related Materials
As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.
Kyoto National Museum collects, preserves, displays, researches and provides educational programs focusing on cultural properties from Heian- through to Edo- period Japan, when the capital was located there.
Nara National Museum collects, preserves, displays, researches and provides educational programs about cultural properties with a focus on Buddhist art.
The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.
東急グループの礎を築いた五島慶太が蒐集した日本と東洋の美術品を中心に設立された美術館。国宝「源氏物語絵巻」、国宝「紫式部日記絵巻」を所蔵し、それぞれ、毎年ゴールデンウィーク頃と秋に1週間程度展示。
絵画、陶磁、漆工、染織など日本の古美術から東西のガラスまで、約3,000件の美術品を収蔵。重要文化財に指定された「病草紙断簡」「善教房絵巻」「酒呑童子絵巻」など平安時代~江戸時代の多数の絵巻を所蔵し、企画展などで公開。
尾張徳川家伝来の大名道具を収蔵・展示。国宝「源氏物語絵巻」を所蔵。特別展などで公開しています。
External Links
日文研所蔵の「地獄草紙絵巻」「鳥羽絵巻」「長谷雄草紙」 「寛永行幸図巻」絵巻や「百鬼夜行絵巻」などの妖怪絵巻のほか、妖怪・化物などの 画像を高精細表示するデータベース。
「名品ギャラリー」「コレクションデータベース」からサントリー美術館が所蔵している絵巻を閲覧できる。
江戸東京博物館が所蔵している絵巻を閲覧できる。
References
- 若杉準治 編,至文堂
- 村重寧 監修,平凡社
- 河野元昭 監修,平凡社