The Fireflies (Hotaru), Illustration to Chapter 25 of the Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) c. 1509 - 1510

Curator: Isn't it remarkable? This illustration, "The Fireflies (Hotaru)," springs from the twenty-fifth chapter of "The Tale of Genji." It's attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu and resides here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s surprisingly…flat. The perspective feels almost decorative, like a stage set for a story I can't quite grasp. Curator: Mitsunobu flattens space intentionally. See how the architecture and figures layer? It emphasizes the dreamlike quality of the tale itself. Editor: Dreamlike, yes, but also highly stylized. Look at the archers on horseback—the rigid lines of the barriers seem to contain their energy. Are they trapped, perhaps, by courtly expectations? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe Mitsunobu is hinting at the controlled chaos of Genji's world, where beauty and passion are always tempered by social constraint. The fireflies themselves become symbols. Editor: A pretty picture, then, concealing layers of societal nuance. The fireflies... I can almost feel their ephemeral glow. Curator: It's more than pretty, wouldn't you say? It's a portal into a world both familiar and utterly foreign.