Landscape around Ishiyamadera and Lake Biwa (Finispiece to an album containing 54 illustrations and calligraphic excerpts from the Tale of Genji) c. early to late 17th century

Curator: I find this Landscape around Ishiyamadera and Lake Biwa incredibly dreamlike, as if Tosa Mitsuoki distilled a fleeting memory onto silk. Editor: It has a powerful, serene quality, but it also feels like a stage set. The buildings and landscape elements are almost theatrical, representing Buddhist themes and a connection to the Tale of Genji. Curator: Yes! A little stage where one can feel a sense of being within the story, you know? I love the composition, especially how the moon connects the sky and water. Editor: The moon is a potent symbol of illusion, of course, suggesting the ephemeral nature of beauty and the shifting perspectives within the Tale itself. Its doubling in the water highlights the play of reflection and reality. Curator: It makes you question what’s true, just like a Genji romance! Looking at it, it makes me feel that this picture encapsulates the entire story, which is so beautiful and sad. Editor: Indeed, it's about continuity. How cultural memory lingers in the landscape, mediated through visual symbols and carried forth into the present. We’re still looking, still feeling the echoes.