Lady Yugao, Utagawa Sadakage I

Exhibition Label:
"The Art of Stories Told," Jun-2004, Veronica de Jong
The Tale of Genji is a very long novel and couldn’t be illustrated in its entirety. Over time certain scenes became standard and were repeatedly reproduced. This intimate scene was popularly employed by several painters and print designers to depict the beginning of the fourth chapter titled “Evening Faces.” The chapter begins with Genji visiting his old nurse and while waiting outside her residence he notices a simple home surrounded by a fence overgrown with morning glories (or “evening faces”), which are called yugao in Japanese. Genji had his male servant pick some of the flowers and the maid of the house came out with a scented white fan to put them on. Genji rapidly became infatuated with the mysterious young woman of the house, Lady Yugao, and began courting her. One evening Genji and Lady Yugao went to a secluded and deserted home to spend the night together. During the night Genji was awakened by an angry female spirit and shortly after Lady Yugao died, presumably as a result of the female spirit that was actually a spurned lover of Genji’s.