Wedding robe (uchikake) with design of carriages, bridges, pine, maple leaves, and cherry blossoms

The carriages shown on this wedding robe, which illustrates a scene from The Tale of Genji, call to mind aristocratic culture of the Heian period (794–1185), when they served as vehicles for wealthy elites in Kyoto. This is the same narrow slice of classical Japanese society highlighted in The Tale of Genji. This type of carriage appears frequently in all manner of Genji pictures. Arched bridges, the other primary motif on this robe, may suggest the famous arched bridge over the Uji River, which serves as a setting for parts of The Tale of Genji.