The Tale of Genji, a classic novel by Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978-1026), explores the complexities of elite society in eleventh-century Japan through the life of Prince Genji, a member of the imperial court. Among the many artistic adaptations of this work is an exquisite album held by the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University. Created in Japan during the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, this album is unusual in its inclusion of poems praising the Confucian virtues. Confucianism began in China with the teachings of Kongzi, often referred to as Confucius (551-479 BC); transmitted to Japan during the Edo period, the philosophy was used by the ruling shogunate to promote societal harmony and order.

Included here are four poems, originally composed by the Buddhist monk Jien (1155-1225), from the Ashmolean’s Tale of Genji album. The calligrapher of the poem on politeness, or rei, was Reizei Tameyasu (1735–1816), whose calligraphy was highly sought after and difficult to obtain; the inclusion of his work suggests that the Ashmolean’s album was produced for a member of the upper class or the shogunal family.

Twenty assorted 5 x 7" full-color blank notecards (5 each of 4 designs) with white envelopes in a decorative box.