Kuniyoshi: Beauties and Prince Genji Taking Shelter from the Rain (Yadorigi)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi 国芳 Title: The Element Wood ("Ki") and Yadorigi from the 49th Chapter of the Tale of Genji Series: Visual Parody of the Five Elements 見たて五行(Mitate go gyô) Date: 1851-52 Prince Genji is wearing resplendent robes, standing before the trunk of a large tree that is sheltering the group from the rain; he is surrounded by beautiful women, two of whom kneel down before him. This series pairs the five natural elements with chapters from the Tale of Genji. Here the element of wood is paired with chapter Yadorigi. Yadorigi is the 49th Chapter, and the title of Yadorigi was taken as a pun on this word, which can mean both “Ivy” and “once stayed”, and also perhaps “taking shelter”, and refers to a famous waka  poem. This scene must relate to the incredibly popular Rustic  Genji novel that was written between 1829-1842, which created its own Genji craze within the ukiyo-e genre. As Andreas Marks writes “The serial devices employed for Genji prints were known historically in