EXHIBITION | The Courtly Hokusai: Heian Literature in Edo

The Courtly World of Hokusai: Heian Literature in Edo will run until November 24 at the Sumida Hokusai Museum. It will be held in two terms, both of which are worth seeing. The first term concludes on October 20. Several substitutions will be made before the second term, opening on October 22.

The historical timeline of Japan is punctuated by two eras of prolonged peace with little internal warfare or imperial aggression. One is the Edo period (1603-1868) and the other is the Heian period (794-1185). Given its early date and more than four-century duration, the Heian period is particularly notable.

Heian Japan was an orderly time administered under an ethical code — a 17-point constitution. It was drawn up by Prince Shotoku, one of Japan's most celebrated historical rulers. The era concluded when the clans allied with the Kyoto-based emperor were defeated by an alliance based in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Well-Documented History

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), lived and worked entirely within the Edo era. However, he was not short of references on Heian life. The Heian era is remarkably well documented for one so far in the past.

A principal historical source for the period is the celebrated and widely read novel, The Tale of Genji. Written by noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu, it first appeared in the early eleventh century. Also, it is commonly accepted to be the earliest example of a literary novel. The Pillow Book, a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages, is another famous reference.

Many poems and literary works of the Heian era were transcribed in the most formal form of Japanese. During Hokusai's time, they became accessible to the masses through translations that explained them in versions of the Japanese language that townsfolk could comprehend.

Also, the characters and stories of the Heian era found their way into kabuki and other forms of popular entertainment. Hokusai's depictions of the era were welcomed in Edo Japan where people craved visual interpretations of what many were imagining.

The Heian 'Art of War'

Much of the subject matter within the literary offerings concerned seduction and romantic intrigue. Indeed, in an era bereft of war, it often appears as if the Heian nobles played out the "art of war" denied them on the battlefield, within the halls, gardens and bedrooms of the palaces.

Literary skills such as the ability to write poetry were a requisite for attracting a lover. Perhaps they were a substitute for martial lore. Heian era Japan truly was a time when the "pen" (or brush) was mightier than the sword.

Visual Interpretations of Heian Era Court Literature

The exhibition is divided into three sections:

Formation of a Courtly Image,
Court Literature Depicted, and
Designs Related to Court Literature.

Court Literature Depicted, the second of the three, is the most expansive. And The Tale of Genji is its prominent literary source. A traditional card game in Japan that remains popular in the present day is karuta. Engaging in this common pastime, one player reads out the first half of a poem. The remaining players then compete to locate and grab the card on which the other half of the poem is written.

A version of the game was created by Hokusai, using the 54 chapters of The Tale of Genji as subject matter.

Interestingly, Hokusai's card game has 55 pairs. Chapter 41 of The Tale of Genji has the title "Vanished in the Clouds" but no text exists. Accordingly, the novel is generally accepted to only have 54 chapters. The content on the cards Hokusai created for chapter 41 comes only from his imagination.

*Katsushika Hokusai, The Tale of Genji Poem Cards, The Sumida Hokusai Museum*

Images of Ishiyama Temple

This karuta card set is essentially a toy, and toy boxes rarely survive. Therefore there is an increased collector value of a toy complete with its original box. Remarkably, the cover sheet from the folded paper case of Hokusai's set of karuta cards still exists. Moreover, it is on display at the exhibition. It depicts Murasaki Shikibu writing The Tale of Genji in seclusion at Ishiyama T emple in Shiga prefecture.

Murasaki at Ishiyama Temple is one of the most representative images of Heian era Japan. Ishiyama Temple fronts Lake Biwa, which is frequently included in such illustrations. In the sketches below, Ichikawa Kansai opts for a back view of Murasaki, highlighting the scenery she enjoyed while completing her famed novel.

*Ichikawa Kansai, Murasaki Shikibu, from Album of Hokusai Sketches, Formal and Informal, Vol 2, The Sumida Hokusai Museum (1st term)*

Designs Related to Court Literature

In the third section, Designs Related to Court Literature, The Tale of Genji is again prominent. The novel also contains descriptions of motifs that adorned the clothing and accessories of the Heian era nobles.

These designs and motifs were reproduced by Hokusai and his students. Thereafter, they found their way onto contemporary kimono, obi, and accessories. Notice how, in Beauties Playing the Poem Card Game, a variety of Heian-inspired motifs adorn the kimono.

Champions of the Townsfolk

The exhibition title appropriately includes the term "Courtly." Conspicuously absent from the exhibition are pictorial depictions of the common folk of the Heian era. However, this should not be surprising, as little about them is revealed in the poems and literature of the day.

On this issue, Bard College professor Ian Buruma, a noted authority on Asian culture, offers a perspective. He suggests that the "elegant flirtation, the refined courtship" that defined the Heian era, was another in the long list of Chinese traits in which the Japanese, "or, to be more precise…the small aristocracy of Heian Japan" came to indulge.

He then turns to the point that he truly wanted to make. However, then "the aristocracy was Heian culture" he amends, (Buruma's italics) "the rest of the people being far too poor to play any games."

Buruma could be right, but we will never definitively know. By contrast, the Edo era, Japan's other prolonged period of stability and peace, was awash with popular culture. Of this we can be sure. And our abundance of knowledge of Edo era townsfolk life is one of the many reasons to be grateful for the illustrations and woodblock prints of Katsushika Hokusai and his Edo era contemporaries.

For more information and access to the exhibition, the Sumida Hokusai Museum website is most helpful.

Author: Paul de Vries
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