Scene from chapter 12, Suma, of The Tale of Genji [left of a set of three]

These three scrolls each illustrate a single scene from The Tale of Genji. The left scroll probably represents chapter 12, in which Genji is exiled to the desolate shore of Suma Bay. The center scroll illustrates a scene in chapter 28, in which the empress’s ladies-in-waiting carry cages with cicadas into the garden to give the insects a sip of morning dew. The right scroll may depict chapter 14, in which Prince Genji travels to Naniwa Bay in an ox-pulled carriage. These three scrolls were originally panels of a six-panel folding screen that was reformatted at some point. The three companion panels are in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Nothing is known about the artist, whose large round red seal reads simply “Taketsugu.”