Chapter 7

Chapter 7 by Chobunsai Eishi (1756-1829) is recorded by Art of Japan via [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e).org (reference b2b2e98312a9b5a487b8d8e0f82fa2b1) and corresponds to one sheet from a Tale of Genji-inflected mitate series. The seventh chapter of Genji, Momiji no ga, takes place at a moment of imperial spectacle with an autumn maple dance, an episode favored by ukiyo-e designers because it permits scenes of elegant performance and seasonal display. Eishi recasts the subject as Edo [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga), replacing the Heian court with contemporary beauties whose kimono patterns and arrangements evoke the chapter's autumnal mood. The composition employs his trademark elongated figures, calligraphic line, and a calm spatial arrangement: bodies are tall and slim, faces small and oval, drapery rendered as flat, patterned planes. The palette favors muted reds and golds with passages of black hair against a pale ground. The mitate format depends on the educated viewer recognizing the chapter title and tracing its presence in the props or kimono motifs, a reading practice that distinguished Eishi's print buyers from the audience for purely topical genre work. As a Kano-trained ukiyo-e artist, Eishi was particularly well placed to design such literarily layered series, since his early career had brought him into contact with classical narratives through painting commissions. The Art of Japan record places the sheet within Eishi's broader Genji output, where it complements better-documented designs such as Furyu Yatsushi Genji in the British Museum and offers an additional example of the chapter-by-chapter format he favored.