Go Yayanagi’s 1974 silkscreen 源氏物語 (2) (The Tale of Genji (2)) evokes Heian beauty - perhaps the ethereal Lady Fujitsubo - through a Pop-Uki lens. Her long, flowing hair arcs in bold black strokes, punctuated by zebra-stripe fragments and flat colour fields of fuchsia, teal and ochre. Geometric panels hover like poetic notes, marrying the grace of ukiyo-e line work with 1970s colour pop-art. The result is a distilled homage to Genji’s world of refined romance and ritual. 🎨👘💖
- Year & Edition: 1974 · The Tale of Genji (2) · Ed. 47/70 (signed & dated in pencil).
- Series: 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji): a series of 10 (1–10) picture-poems (edition of 70) published in 1974 celebrating Japan’s greatest work of literary prose. Written in the early eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu - a novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court - the Tale of Genji follows the fictional life and romances of the “Shining Prince.” Yayanagi’s Pop-Uki reinterpretation honors this legacy while charting new graphic territory. The Kojiki (古事記) and further picture-poem series - The Earth… and Now (地球…そして今は), Men & Women (男と女) and The Flying Pencils (飛んだえんぴつ)—soon follow during his prolific 1970s silkscreen period.
- Medium: Silkscreen.
- Dimensions: Sheet H: 79.50 cm × W: 55.00 cm.
- Condition: Excellent; paper flawless at edges and corners, colours remain bold and vibrant.
- Notes: For more on Genji’s world, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated (2019). An essential piece for collectors of modern Japanese printmaking. 👁️✨
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