Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the <em>Tale of Genji,</em> authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794–1185) court. The scenes are painted in the “white drawing” (<em>hakubyō</em>) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character’s lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters “Thin Veil of Cloud” (Usugumo) and “Barrier Gate” (Sekiya).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
448033
label
Shell of the Locust from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
448033
contentType
object
title
Shell of the Locust from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji
description
This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the <em>Tale of Genji,</em> authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794–1185) court. The scenes are painted in the “white drawing” (<em>hakubyō</em>) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character’s lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters “Thin Veil of Cloud” (Usugumo) and “Barrier Gate” (Sekiya).
date
1600s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117246991
genreSpecific
Bound Volume
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Each leaf: 26.3 x 22 cm (10 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.); Painting only: 17 x 20.6 cm (6 11/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
cul
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
accession
1961.202.b
Source extras
tec
painting in an accordion-style album; ink, light color, and gold on paper
tombstone
Shell of the Locust from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji (源氏絵画帖 空蝉), 1600s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Painting in an accordion-style album; ink, light color, and gold on paper; each leaf: 26.3 x 22 cm (10 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.); painting only: 17 x 20.6 cm (6 11/16 x 8 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Vera Sterne in memory of her husband, Maurice Sterne, 1961.202.b
titleInOriginalLanguage
源氏絵画帖 空蝉
collection
Japanese Art
didYouKnow
The illustrations are identified by chapter title in cartouches to the upper right of the paintings.
creditline
Gift of Vera Sterne in memory of her husband, Maurice Sterne
updatedAt
2026-05-29 09:03:09.225000
sourceId
448033
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
painting in an accordion-style album; ink, light color, and gold on paper
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
711a26ed97aea825