Among the museum’s most celebrated treasures are the illustrated handscrolls of “The Tale of Genji” and a magnificent set of bridal furnishings known as “Hatsune”.

“The Tale of Genji” is a classic romantic novel written by a woman who served at the imperial court in the early eleventh century. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Japanese literature. The illustrated handscrolls, created in the first half of the twelfth century, illustrate scenes from The Tale of Genji. They are the oldest surviving illustrated version of the story. With their delicate brushwork and refined colors, these paintings preserve the elegant world of Japan’s aristocracy from a thousand years ago.

The “Hatsune” furnishings were originally part of the bridal trousseau of a young princess who, at just two years and six months of age, was sent from the main Tokugawa family to marry into the Owari Tokugawa family as part of a political alliance. The name of “Hatsune” comes from one of the chapter titles in “The Tale of Genji”, whose story inspired the decorative designs on these furnishings. In that chapter, a eight year-old adopted daughter receives New Year’s gifts with a poem from her birth mother, who longs to see her again.

Through long‑passing years,

drawn on by waiting,

to the one who has endured them,

may the bush warbler’s first song be heard today.

Aichi

The Tokugawa Art Museum: Treasures of the Tokugawa Family