Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePhotograph1930

Photograph of the Keicho Woodblock Tamakazura Chapter

金子元臣 · 1930

A 1930 photograph of a Keicho era woodblock-printed page of the Tamakazura chapter from Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji.

Shows a printed edition of the Tamakazura chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's novel.

Ask Murasaki Shikibu about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black-and-white photograph of a handwritten page in Japanese cursive kana script, arranged in vertical columns on pale, aged paper. The brush-written characters are dark and flowing, with a small mark at the upper right.
金子元臣, photograph of the Keicho woodblock Tamakazura chapter, 1930. From 『定本源氏物語新解』.

About this source

What it is

This 1930 photograph by 金子元臣 shows a page from a Keicho era woodblock edition of the Tamakazura chapter of The Tale of Genji. It was published as a frontispiece in a scholarly edition of the novel.

Why it matters

This image is part of a set of photographs documenting different manuscript and printed versions of Murasaki Shikibu's novel, written in the early 11th century. Comparing editions like this helps scholars understand how the text changed over time.

Look closer

  • What differences can you spot between this printed page and a handwritten manuscript page of the same story?
  • Why would scholars in 1930 want to photograph and compare old editions of a thousand-year-old novel?
  • What does the survival of many editions suggest about the novel's importance in Japanese culture?

This photograph 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.

More Murasaki Shikibu sources

Meet the AI Murasaki Shikibu →
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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Murasaki Shikibu now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions