The Tale of Genji: Radiant Culture of the Japanese Imperial Court

Kyoto National Museum · Heisei Chishinkan Wing · Kyoto · –

Twelve highlights from the Kyoto checklist's 147 numbered entries trace how a novel is transmitted and imagined, from manuscripts and a portrait of its author to a National Treasure handscroll. Display periods differ, and at least ten stops are on view every open day; Hashihime is shown only November 3–15.

In-depth audio guide

Plan your visit

Display periods
  • First period: –
  • Second period: –
Opening hours
09:00–17:30 Until 20:00 on Fridays; last admission 30 minutes before closing (17:00, or 19:30 on Fridays).
Closed
Mondays, Oct 13 and Nov 24 (open Monday Oct 12 and Monday Nov 23).
Closed during the exhibition
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Admission
  • Adult ¥2,200
  • University student ¥1,200
  • High-school student ¥700
Reservation
The official page does not mention entry reservations. Advance tickets (JPY 2,000 for adults) are on sale Aug 6–Oct 5; groups of 20 or more pay the same. Free for junior-high students and younger (with proof) and for holders of a disability certificate or another listed certificate with one caregiver. Campus Members, including faculty, get JPY 500 off same-day tickets with ID, at the South Gate ticket office only and not combinable with other discounts.

Information verified · Check the official site for same-day updates

Works (12)

National Treasure: 3 · Important Cultural Property: 4

  1. 1. The Tale of Genji (Teika manuscript): Wakamurasaki, “Young Murasaki” Copyist not named on the checklist · Ink on paper; one bound volume · Kamakura period, 13th century · (No owner listed on the checklist) — Start with the book itself: an upright volume copied in the thirteenth century, one of the five surviving books of Fujiwara no Teika's text.
  2. 13. The Tale of Genji (Ōshima manuscript): Sekiya, Kashiwagi and Yume no ukihashi Important Cultural Property Copyists not named on the checklist · Ink on paper; three of six bound volumes · Sekiya and Kashiwagi: Muromachi period, 15th–16th century; Yume no ukihashi: Muromachi period, 1564 · The Paleological Association of Japan (Kodaigaku Kyōkai), Kyoto — Three volumes from a set of fifty-three: Sekiya, “At the Pass”, Kashiwagi, “The Oak Tree”, and the tale's last chapter, Yume no ukihashi, “The Floating Bridge of Dreams”.
  3. 17. Portrait of Murasaki Shikibu Tosa Mitsuoki · Support not confirmed; one hanging scroll · Edo period, 17th century · Ishiyama-dera, Shiga — Find the brush in her right hand, her arm on a desk with an inkstone box and paper: the pose later portraits of her followed.
  4. 34. Collected Works of Bai Juyi (Hakushi monjū), scrolls 3 and 4 Important Cultural Property Copied by Fujiwara no Mochiakira (also written Tomoaki) · Ink on paper; two handscrolls · Heian period, 1107 · Kyoto National Museum — Poems by the Tang poet Bai Juyi, copied in Japan in 1107: look beside the characters for small reading marks.
  5. 38. The Tale of Genji Illustrated Scrolls: Kashiwagi I, Hashihime, Yadorigi III National Treasure Artist unknown (paintings traditionally attributed to Fujiwara no Takayoshi) · Colour on paper (pictures); ink on decorated paper (text) · Heian period, 12th century · The Tokugawa Art Museum, Aichi — Lean in: the picture is just over 20 centimetres tall. Find the faces: a thin line for each eye, a small hook for the nose.
  6. 39. The Tale of Genji Illustrated Scrolls: Suzumushi (The Bell Cricket) II National Treasure Artist unknown (paintings traditionally attributed to Fujiwara no Takayoshi) · Colour on paper (picture); ink on paper (text panels) · Heian period, 12th century · The Gotoh Museum, Tokyo — Look to the upper right: an ultramarine night sky and a silver full moon above two noblemen seated face to face.
  7. 101-7. Uji Incense Box, from the Hatsune Furnishings National Treasure Kōami Nagashige · Lacquered wood with maki-e · Edo period, 1639 · The Tokugawa Art Museum, Aichi — Start with the lid: the Byōdō-in and a bell tower in fine maki-e, with the box's name set in silver characters.
  8. 142. Noh Mask, Deigan type, from the Konparu family Important Cultural Property Brand 'Tenka-ichi Kawachi' (maker given by e-Kokuhō as Kawachi no Daijō Ieshige) · Wood, painted · Edo period, 17th century · Tokyo National Museum — Look into the eyes: the whites are painted gold, and so are the tips of the blackened teeth.
  9. 190. Illustrated Handscrolls of The Tale of Genji (Moriyasu edition): Aoi, 'Leaves of Wild Ginger' Not named on the checklist (attributed to Tosa Mitsuoki in the museum's 2020 display) · Colour on paper · Edo period, 17th century · Kyoto National Museum — Notice how much of this scroll is writing: the set copies the tale's full text, not a digest, between gold-rich paintings.
  10. 173. Album of Scenes from The Tale of Genji Important Cultural Property Tosa Mitsuyoshi and Chōjirō · Colour on gold-ground paper · Azuchi-Momoyama to Edo period, 17th century · Kyoto National Museum — Lean in: the open sheet is only about 26 centimetres tall, yet holds a chapter's scene in colour on gold.
  11. 244. Nise Murasaki inaka Genji (The Fake Murasaki's Rustic Genji) Written by Ryūtei Tanehiko, illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) · Woodblock-printed books (gōkan) · Edo period, 1829–42 · Tokyo National Museum — Choose a page: pictures fill it, and the story runs in tiny hiragana around the figures.
  12. 256. The Princesses of the Uji Prince Matsuoka Eikyū · Colour on silk, pair of six-panel folding screens · 1912 · Himeji City Museum of Art, Hyōgo — Find Kaoru on the right screen: his back to the two princesses, he looks toward the moon on the left screen.

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