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Secondary sourcePaintingmid-17th century

Leaves of Wild Ginger (Aoi), Phantom Genji Scrolls

mid-17th century

A mid-1600s Japanese handscroll illustrating the Aoi chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji.

This later painting illustrates a chapter from Murasaki Shikibu's novel, showing its lasting influence centuries after she wrote it.

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Painted handscroll of the Tale of Genji style on gold-leaf ground: a gilded palace-like structure with a green-blue carriage area at center, a veiled woman in orange robes standing, a woman in red kneeling, and a group of seated courtiers in black, grey and green robes below, with monks in black and white robes at upper right.
Unknown artist, "Leaves of Wild Ginger" (Aoi), Phantom Genji Scrolls (Moriyasu Version), mid-17th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a section of a painted handscroll made in Japan during the Edo period, in ink, color, and gold on paper, with ivory roller knobs. It illustrates the "Aoi" (Wild Ginger) chapter of the Tale of Genji and is part of a set known as the Phantom Genji Scrolls. It is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

The Tale of Genji was written around the year 1000 by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court. Centuries later, artists kept retelling her story in paint, showing how deeply it shaped Japanese culture long after her lifetime.

Look closer

  • What details in the painting tell you this is a courtly scene?
  • Why might artists centuries later still want to illustrate this story?
  • What does the gold background suggest about who this artwork was made for?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Murasaki Shikibu on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Diary entry

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Primary source

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Ki no Tsurayuki · 935 (copy 13th century)

Photograph of the front cover of a Japanese book bound in pale green-grey paper. A vertical cream label on the cover bears brush-written Japanese characters and a small seal-like stamp appears at lower left. A color calibration chart and a metric ruler are along the edges of the image.Book

Secondary source

Eiri Genji Monogatari

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