Yügao

Catalog note / 解説

Hiroshige's Genji series is not well known. The entire series of five prints was made horizontally. The chapter's titles are located at the upper right side of each image. Gold-colored cloud patterns surround the edges of each scene. It appears as if the scenes are fading in and out. This device is called suyari-gasumi (literally, “straight haze”). It helps to hide story elements which do not need to be depicted, and allows viewers to focus on important items in a picture. It is also used to provide transition to different situations and times in the story. If you look carefully, you will see traces of metal dots on the clouds. These dots are thought to imitate a traditional decorative devi…