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Secondary sourceBook17th century

Paulownia Court Chapter Manuscript from The Tale of Genji

Unknown Edo period artist · 17th century

A 17th-century illustrated manuscript of the opening chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's novel The Tale of Genji, part of a full set of all 54 chapters.

An illustrated later copy of the opening chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's novel, showing its continued popularity.

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Painted page from a Japanese manuscript in the Edo style: an orange-robed nobleman sits on a checkered floor under a blue-tiled roof beside a pine tree, while a woman in a white robe sits on a green mat at right, a man in a dark patterned robe sits at right, a green-draped lacquered screen stands at lower left with a seated attendant, and a figure in a blue robe appears at bottom center. Gold flecks decorate the paper margins.
Unknown Edo period artist, Paulownia Court (Kiritsubo) chapter from The Tale of Genji, 17th century.

About this source

What it is

This is an illustrated manuscript book containing the first chapter, "Paulownia Court" (Kiritsubo), of The Tale of Genji, the novel written by Murasaki Shikibu. It was made by an unknown artist in Japan in the mid-17th century, centuries after Murasaki's own lifetime, and is part of a complete set of all 54 chapters kept together with a lacquer storage box.

Why it matters

This manuscript shows how Murasaki Shikibu's novel was copied, illustrated, and preserved long after she wrote it, proving its lasting importance in Japanese culture. The paintings combine her original text with later artistic interpretation, showing how readers pictured her court world.

Look closer

  • What details in the painting tell you about court life and clothing?
  • Why might artists add gold decoration to a manuscript of this story?
  • How might this Edo-period version differ from what Murasaki originally wrote?

This book 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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Fragment of a decorated handscroll page with black calligraphic Japanese script running in vertical columns on gold-flecked paper with dark green and gold scattered patches and faint grass-like brushstrokes. A printed caption in the lower right reads in Japanese.Book

Primary source

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu · c. 1010

Open double-page spread of a Japanese manuscript with gold and silver flecks scattered on brown-orange and dark mauve paper. Black cursive kana calligraphy runs in vertical columns on both pages.Book

Primary source

Kokin Wakashū

Ki no Tsurayuki and compilers · c. 905-920

Diary entry

Primary source

The Diary of Lady Murasaki

Murasaki Shikibu · c. 1008–1010

Scan of a page of handwritten Japanese cursive calligraphy in brown ink on pale paper, written in vertical columns. This is the final part of the Tosa Nikki diary, copied by Fujiwara no Teika in the 13th century.Diary entry

Primary source

Tosa Nikki

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

Yamamoto Shunshō · 1650

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