The Cicada Shell / Utsusemi

This print is number 3 in the series “54 Passions in the Present.”

In this series, the artist Kunichika explored the 54 chapters of The Tale of Genji, creating a version updated to his time, 1884, when Japan had begun its modernization but felt nostalgic for its traditional values. In the main scene, we see a high-ranking lady reading in bed, well covered. At the top of the print are texts on the pages of a book. On the right-hand page is a poem by Prince Genji from the third chapter of The Tale of Genji, in which he laments not having had a nighttime encounter with Utsusemi.

Under this tree

a cicada molted

its shell.

Where is the lady
I long for more than ever?

On the left-hand page is a comment signed by Shōfūsha Shōsō, who adds: A pillow when sleeping is like a mountain of longings.

David Almazán. Exhibition "Prince Genji Prints", Red Itiner 2023