Genji Excursion to Enoshima Island

This woodblock print depicts two richly-dressed Japanese courtesans conversing by the edge of a bay. It was produced by the Japanese woodblock artist Toyohara Kunichika, carved by Mi no and published by Kiya Sojiro in Tokyo, Japan, in October 1863. It is the central panel of an original triptych; a work of art comprised of three distinct panels, titled 'Genji excursion to Enoshima Island' (Genji no kimi Enoshima Yuran no Zu).The scene is a Genji-e or Mitate-e; a parody illustration of the original Genji story. A popular subject for many Japanese print artists in the nineteenth century, 'The Tale of Genji', the classical Japanese novel by Lady Murasaki Shikibu of the late Heian period (794-1185 AD), detailed the lengthy, often complex love adventures of the novel's central character, Prince Genji. The story spawned many parodies, illustrations of which were also prevalent and often termed mitate-e.In this image, Genji and a female courtesan are seen standing at the edge of the bay, about to embark on their excursion to Enoshima Island (Kanagawa Prefecture) with attendants. In this image, the Izu Peninsula (Shizuoka Prefecture) is just visible in the background on the right print, but is more fully illustrated in the right panel of the original triptych.