Genji Monogatari

A second print from the Genji Monogatari series, distinguished from companion sheets by its specific narrative episode. Saito's approach across the series is consistent in technique but varied in mood: certain plates emphasize the closed, lamplit interiors of the Heian palace, others the gardens and seasonal landscapes that punctuate the novel. Mezzotint's range from velvet black to burnished near-white allows him to suggest precise hours of day and types of weather without recourse to color, and to differentiate textile, lacquer, water, and skin through the modulation of a single chromatic key. The Genji series, undertaken over nearly a decade, required the preparation of dozens of large copper plates and represents an extended commitment to a technique that allows almost no margin for revision. This sheet contributes to the cumulative portrait of Heian court life that Saito built across the project.