Heiji Monogatari Emaki

I visited the Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts, and one of the features I appreciated the most were the scroll paintings. One such painting is the Heiji Monogatari Emaki. It was the warrior class which formed the core of society during the Kamakura period. Thus, many hand scrolls depicting war tales were produced. The Heiji Monogatari emaki is among the best-known examples of this genre. There were several versions, though only parts of these remain. They are based on the Tale of Heiji, which describes the strife between Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitomo and describes the so-called Heiji Disturbance of 1159. This was when the Minamoto clan was defeated, and the political dominance of the Taira clan was established. Emperor Nijo had been kept captive in the imperial palace by the military forces of the Minamoto. This scene (below) shows Emperor Nijo escaping to the residence of Taira no Kiyomori in Kyoto’s Rokuhara district. Taira warriors are greeting an oxcart that bears the emperor (Heiji Monogatari Emaki).
I looked at the woodwork and lacquer ware and noticed the Lacquer Inkstone Case with
Mother-of-Pearl Inlay by Ogata Korin. The iris design of the Lacquer Inkstone Case (shown below) was meant to commemorate a well-known account (in the ninth chapter of the Ise Monogatari). The early Heian-period poet Ariwara no Narihira visited a scenic spot in the province of Mikawa, also known as present-day Aichi Prefecture, called Yatsuhashi. This spot was known for a type of iris called kakitsubata. The poet is said to have composed there a famous Waka poem incorporating the name of this lovely flower. Lead inlays are used to represent bridges over a river in addition to the mother-of-pearl inlays representing the iris blossoms. Ogata Korin was also well-known as an innovative painter; however, the bold composition of this lacquer case makes it one of his best works (Woodwork and Lacquerware).
I went into the Kabuki (classical Japanese dance-drama) exhibit and found one particular play that I thought was informative: Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. Sugawara-no-Michizane was exiled to Dazaifu for a crime that he had not committed during the power struggle in the Heian era. This tragic incident became a legend, and it was adopted for various entertainments. The Kabuki play, “Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (Secrets of Calligraphy)” is one of them; however, Michizane is not one of the main characters in the play. In these are his triplet sons, Umeomaru (plum tree), Matsuomaru (pine tree) and Sakuramaru (cherry tree). Michizane loses his position because of a rival’s machination, and the triplet brothers become embroiled in a fraternal struggle. As a result, Sakuramaru commits “harakiri”, which is a ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword, and Matsuomaru sacrifices his son. The playwright’s inspiration for the characters of the triplet brothers in this play came from “Triplets born in Osaka” (Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). Next, I went into the calligraphy exhibit and found the Register of National Treasures. This register is of a large quantity of rare treasures, which consists mainly of items that had belonged to Emperor Shomu. These items were donated to Todaiji Temple soon after Shomu’s death in 756. It bears the date “21st day of the 6th month” of that year. The style of the Chinese characters was most strongly influenced by that of the famous early Tang-dynasty calligrapher Ou-Yang Xun according to one theory. Another theory holds that it took as its model the so-called kaisho writing style of calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the early Eastern Jin dynasty (Calligraphy). To end my “field trip”, I explored the hina doll exhibit and discovered the amagatsu.
The “amagatsu” is clothed like a “Kakashi” (scarecrow), while the “Hoko” is like a stuffed doll. However, both of these words used to mean the same thing. In those days, they were known as “Hoko” which today we call “amagatsu”, and there were also stuffed “amagatsu”. These dolls were used as “katashiro”, which were used when casting spells or curses, for funerals in the Heian era. They became popular as substitutes for bearing the impurities and evil spirits that afflicted children in the Muromachi era. In the Edo era, people displayed these dolls at the “Momo-no-sekku”, one of the Japanese traditional events which wishes the healthy growth of girls, together with dolls for the Girls’ Festival by taking “amagatsu” as the male doll and “Hoko” as a female doll
(Amagatsu). The Virtual Museum of Japanese Arts is an amazing place to visit, and I thought it was a good learning experience for me. It is filled with dozens of stunning artworks and contains many exhibits where you can learn about Japanese culture. I could go into detail about all of them, but that could take a whole book if it did. It is also better to go there and experience it for yourself. Trust me. This is something you do not want to miss.