Asian Art website: Messenger Delivering a Letter

In the background, sliding doors are decorated in the conventional pattern of “scattered fans and squares.” The square on the left-most panel of the doors depicts a scene from the Ukifune chapter of the Heian period (794–1185) classic the Tale of Genji. One interpretation of the action in the screen hinges upon this painting within the painting. The main courtesan and her companion, seated with her back to us, are posed in reverse facing each other. The interplay between these two figures, punctuated by the handmaid delivering the letter, may be reference to an event in the Ukifune chapter. The courtesan eyes the handmaid’s delivery, but the position of her face within the overall composition of the screen is paired in line with the painted square affixed to the sliding doors. The painted scene in the square is traditionally understood to represent the content of the Ukifune chapter as painted albums by Tosa School artists. The scene depicts Ukifune in a boat with her lover Niou, crossing the Uji River. The overall action in the screen resonates with the Ukifune chapter. A pivotal moment in the chapter is when letter bearers of two lovers of the ill-fated Ukifune, Niou and Kaoru, cross paths by chance. Because a note attached to a gift delivered at New Year’s ultimately revealed the sequestered Ukifune’s whereabouts to her lover Niou, it has also been suggested that the Ukifune scene reinforces the New Year’s theme of the screen. This screen has been associated with the figures and forms of another monument of early ukiyo-e painting, an influential six-fold screen of slightly earlier date in the Hikone Collection. Further, it has been observed that the Princeton screen mobilizes conventions unique to Japanese genre painting of the Kan’ei era in that it generates a pseudo-narrative interest through its placement and posing of figures. In particular, the figures of the handmaid delivering the letter and the lounging courtesan call forth not only the generic image of a courtesan receiving an amorous letter from a client, but also the traditional iconography of the noble recluse, who is often depicted in a similar pose to that of the main courtesan of the Princeton screen. The opulent surroundings in this representation of the lifestyles of high ranking courtesans are typical of ukiyo-e, which was stimulated and supported by the growing wealth of town dwellers during a time of peace and economic revival. The screen’s lacquered frame incorporates a checked pattern in mother-of-pearl, and although it is not original to the screen, it was clearly chosen to amplify the sense of luxury and decadence of the courtesan’s inner chambers.