Hotaru　蛍

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

A pictorial subject taken from "Fireflies" Hotaru, Chapter 25 of GENJI MONOGATARI 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji). While *Tamakazura 玉鬘 is meeting with her suitor, Prince Hotaru, Hyoubukyou no Miya 兵部卿宮, on an evening in the Fifth month, Genji releases a bagful of fireflies into the room to provide a glimpse of her face by their light, a motif derived from Episode 39 of ISE MONOGATARI 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise). This chapter is also famous for the discussion between Genji and Tamakazura on the nature of fiction, monogatariron 物語論.

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*genji-e 源氏絵

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