"Genji Monogatari" or "The Tale of Genji" is a novel written in Japan in the eleventh century about the love adventures of Prince Genji. The story of the novel was depicted on numerous woodblock prints by Japanese artists of all periods. In the 1950s a set of 54 woodblock prints was designed by Masao Ebina (1913-1980) and published by Yamada Shoin in Kyoto.
The Tale of Genji or 'Genji Monogatari' in Japanese is one of the world's oldest novels. It was written in the eleventh century, during the Heian period, by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, a lady at the Imperial court. The novel tells the amorous adventures of Prince Genji in 54 chapters. In plain words, 'Genji Monogatari' is a collection of 54 stories, loosely connected with each other, about an aristocratic womanizer in medieval Japan.
Masao Ebina, 1913-1980, had studied art at Kyoto Municipal Art and Crafts Special College. He graduated in 1935. His father was a Japanese painter. Masao Ebina is best known for a set of 54 woodblock prints depicting the 54 chapters of 'Genji Monogatari', 'The Tale of Genji'.
The series was published in the 1950s. Each print was produced with a tissue overlay containing the chapter summary in English and Japanese.
The set was published by Yamada Shoin in 1953.
Dieter Wanczura
(June 2009)
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Sunday, November 08, 2009: On Active Events you find our thumbnail overview of current and coming auctions of Japanese prints. If you have any questions, please contact me. - Dieter