Lot 205: Itaya Hironaga (1760-1814)

Itaya Hironaga (1760-1814)
Scene from "Nowaki," Chapter 28 of The Tale of Genji
Signed Keii Hironaga hitsu and sealed Hironaga no in
Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, silver and gold leaf on silk
39 7/8 x 15 7/8in. (101.3 x 40.3cm.)

A typhoon strikes the autumn garden of the empress Akikonomu in Prince Genji's Rokujo mansion. The next morning, after the storm has passed, Genji visits the various ladies in his household to inquire how they have weathered the storm. Akikonomu "had sent some little girls to lay out insect cages in the damp garden. They had on robes of lavender and pink and various deeper shades of purple, and yellow-green jackets lined with green, all appropriately autumnal hues. Disappearing and reappearing among the mists, they made a charming picture. Four and five of them with cages of several colors were walking among the wasted flowers, picking a wild carnation here and another flower there for their royal lady" (Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, trans. Edward G. Seidensticker [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976], p. 462).