Saturday, 27 May 2017

65 - Masanobu: Murasaki Shikibu


Ukiyo-e. Masanobu. Murasaki Shikibu. Genji.
Masanobu: Murasaki Shikibu

Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764) was one of the earliest ukiyo-e masters. He experimented with style, motive, perspective, format, and technique. Posterity has not given him the attention he deserves. His works definitely influenced subsequent ukiyo-e.

This print is: Murasaki Shikibu, from the series Ukiyo-e Genji, created about 1710.

Murasaki Shikibu was a lady of nobility. She wrote what is often considered the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji [源氏物語, Genji Monogatari], written sometime between 1000 and 1012 AD.