null

Minaduki (水無月, The Sixth Month)

null
Japanese colour woodblock print showing women in boat in moonlight

Minaduki (水無月, The Sixth Month)

Date: 1847-1852
Medium: O-ban Nishiki-e (大判錦絵3枚続, large-format coloured print triptych)
Object number: O.12.22
DescriptionThis print is from the series Wakamurasaki Nenju Gyoji no Uchi (若紫年中行事之内, Annual Events for Wakamurasaki).

It is featuring the Tale of Genji (源氏物語), a novel written by Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部) in the Heian period, belongs to the genre of 'Genji-e (源氏絵).' For the people of the Edo period, The Tale of Genji was basic culture.

During the Edo period, stories and ukiyoe prints, in which the setting of The Tale of Genji was changed from the Heian period to the Edo period, also became widely popular among people. This print is one such example, with the figures on screen dressed in Edo period clothing.