The Kyoto National Museum is presenting "The Tale of Genji: Radiant Culture of the Japanese Imperial Court", a special exhibition on Murasaki Shikibu's Heian-period novel and its afterlife in Japanese art, until November 29, 2026. The show, in the museum's Heisei Chishinkan Wing, brings together paintings, decorative arts and manuscripts, and follows the tale's influence on the performing arts and popular culture. It is shown in two parts, with Part I running to November 1 and Part II from November 3, and several works are on view only for shorter periods.
The exhibition is arranged in seven chapters with a topic section and an epilogue. It opens with the copying of the text and its manuscript lineages, including the "Wakamurasaki" chapter of the Teika edition, and turns to Murasaki Shikibu herself, represented by a portrait by Tosa Mitsuoki from Ishiyama-dera. A chapter on the National Treasure Genji handscrolls from the Tokugawa Art Museum shows "Hashihime" (November 3–15) and "Yadorigi" III (November 17–29). Later sections trace how the tale became a classic, its motifs in decorative arts, among them a lacquer box from the Hatsune bridal trousseau, its adaptation for Noh, and its place in early modern painting, with Tawaraya Sōtatsu's National Treasure screens "Sekiya" and "Miotsukushi" from the Seikadō Bunko Art Museum shown in Part I.
A chapter titled "Playing with Genji" looks at the incense game Genji kō, parody prints and Ryūtei Tanehiko's adaptation "Nise Murasaki inaka Genji", illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada. Among the loans to the exhibition is a Kunisada print, "Elegant Genji: Cherry Blossoms on a Misty Night", lent by the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts in Tokyo, which has advised visitors to check the work's display period. The exhibition closes with an epilogue on later reinterpretations, including Matsuoka Eikyū's screens "The Uji Princesses".
The show is organised by the Kyoto National Museum with Nikkei, NHK Kyoto Station and NHK Enterprises. A symposium on The Tale of Genji and Noh and on how English translation has shaped readings of the story takes place at the museum on October 25. After Kyoto, the exhibition travels to the Tokyo National Museum, where it is scheduled from January 19 to March 14, 2027.
