Parody of Murasaki, from "Lavender" (Wakamurasaki), chapter 5 of the Tale of Genji 1700 - 1741

Curator: Standing before us is a painting called "Parody of Murasaki, from "Lavender" (Wakamurasaki), chapter 5 of the Tale of Genji" created sometime between 1700 and 1741 by Kawamata Tsuneyuki. It's currently residing here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Oh, it feels so delicate, so fleeting. Like a spring breeze captured on silk. The colors are muted, almost melancholic, yet there's a quiet beauty. Curator: Precisely. Kawamata Tsuneyuki captures a scene evoking both a landscape and a portrait—very typical of Ukiyo-e genre painting traditions that favored such delicate rendering and symbolic depth. The Tale of Genji itself is full of nuanced observations on the ephemeral quality of beauty and romance. Editor: That staircase... It leads the eye, but where? Is she ascending or descending? And the lone bird above… it all whispers of transition, a poignant farewell perhaps? Also the grid pattern in her robes, combined with the floral design creates this curious tension of rigor and liberty, or control and abandon. Curator: Fascinating reading. One could suggest it’s both—a kind of in-between state where choices haven't fully hardened, still carrying all their delicate promise, a tension amplified through the contrasting themes evident across its many landscapes. That single bird can signal hope or the departing of a season, it truly leaves interpretation open, while those blossoms could imply the fullness of youth, and its quick passing, or its quick fading Editor: Yes, like holding a handful of cherry blossoms knowing they will wither. Even her birdcage sitting on a side table, it seems that all of these subjects of interest are longing for open space. Curator: I quite agree. Tsuneyuki certainly packs potent layers into a seemingly simple watercolor. Editor: Makes me reflect on beauty and inevitable change. Something lovely about facing it head-on. Curator: Indeed. And with that in mind, let's carry that perspective forward and discover some of these deeper connections that these earlier moments of realization, of reflection help us feel through beauty's capacity, and by contrast what feels inevitably altered by it through passage.