To offer you even more information about the museum and Vincent van Gogh, and serve you better, we use cookies. By clicking ‘Accept’, you are giving us permission to use these cookies. Cookies help us to ensure that the website works properly. We also analyse how the website is used, so that we can make any necessary improvements. Advertisements can also be displayed tailored to your interests. And finally, we use cookies to display forms, Google Maps and other embedded content.
Find out more about our cookies.

Search the Japanese print collection

genji scene (genji-e)

In the 19th century, a novel by Ryūtei Tanehiko gave rise to a completely new genre in Japanese printing: the Genji.

False Murasaki and a Country Genji, the full title of the novel, was published as a series between 1829 and 1842. The story charts the experiences of womaniser Prince Mitsuuji.

Tanehiko based his Genji on the eponymous 11th-century novel, the ‘world’s first novel’ featuring Prince Genji as the leading man. This genre is characterised by an enormous wealth of characters, costumes, gardens and interiors.

View this artwork
View this artwork
  • The Genji artist

    The text of Tanehiko’s Genji was illustrated by renowned artist Kunisada. The series achieved enormous commercial success.

    In 1838, Kunisada therefore also started designing individual prints imbued with the story of Genji. It was precisely these prints that Van Gogh selected from the stocks of art trader Bing.

  • View this artwork
  • Genji everywhere

    Genji was so popular that elements of the story even appeared in completely different genres. For example, Hiroshige brought the print of the 37th station on the Tōkaidō road to life by including a scene from the book.

    Back then, the Japanese viewers would have immediately recognised this blurring of the boundaries between the real world and that of literature.

  • View this artwork

88 prints in 'genji scene (genji-e)'

  • n0012V1962
  • n0013V1962
  • n0014V1962
  • n0015V1962
  • n0017V1962
  • n0018V1962
  • n0131V1962
  • n0138V1962
  • n0466V1962
  • n0479V1962
  • n0486V1962
  • n0491V1962
  • n0503M1986
  • n0049V1962
  • n0177V1962
  • n0178V1962
  • n0187V1962
  • n0188V1962
  • n0189V1962
  • n0201V1962
  • n0207V1962
  • n0208V1962
  • n0211V1962
  • n0212V1962
  • n0213V1962
  • n0214V1962
  • n0215V1962
  • n0229V1962
  • n0230V1962
  • n0231V1962
  • n0232V1962
  • n0233V1962
  • n0236V1962
  • n0238V1962
  • n0254V1962
  • n0255V1962
  • n0256V1962
  • n0261V1962
  • n0265V1962
  • n0266V1962
  • n0285V1962
  • n0288V1962
  • n0289V1962
  • n0291V1962
  • n0294V1962
  • n0295V1962
  • n0296V1962
  • n0299V1962
  • n0301V1962
  • n0302V1962
  • n0303V1962
  • n0304V1962
  • n0325V1962
  • n0326V1962
  • n0330V1962
  • n0331V1962
  • n0332V1962
  • n0339V1962
  • n0340V1962
  • n0341V1962
  • n0342V1962
  • n0343V1962
  • n0344V1962
  • n0345V1962
  • n0348V1962
  • n0355V1962
  • n0356V1962
  • n0357V1962
  • n0358V1962
  • n0361V1962
  • n0372V1962
  • n0383V1962
  • n0386V1962
  • n0387V1962
  • n0398V1962
  • n0401V1962
  • n0432V1962
  • n0439V1962
  • n0442V1962
  • n0543V1962
  • na0010
  • na0033
  • na0038
  • na0059

Search the Japanese print collection