What Is The Handscroll In The Tale Of Genji

A handscroll is a long narrow scroll for displaying a series of scenes in Japanese painting and calligraphy. The handscroll presents an artwork in the horizontal form and can be exceptionally long. The development of Heian culture was a way to show your love for another person. Both women and men would produce poems as well as paintings and calligraphy on the handscrolls. Lady Murasaki is the author of Tale of Genji one of the world’s longest novels. The significance of Tale of Genji is to show the life and loves of Prince Genji and his after death, and his heirs. Genji, is the main character of the Tale of Genji, and is the son of the emperor. A Korean sage predicts the future for Genji but, during this his mother becomes very ill and dies. The story displays sensitivity of sadness in the world caused by love and life. Some of the notable examples of Japanese hand scrolls are the sutra of cause and effect handscroll. This hand scroll is from the 8th century from Japan. The handscroll …show more content…
The folding varied according to its function. For instance, small two fold screens were used for tea ceremonies, while large, gold-leaf screens with up to eight folds served as backdrops for dancing. An emphasis on mobility required a structure that would be lightweight and flexible. Flexibility was achieved by an ingenious system of strong paper hinges integrated with the panel construction, which allowed reversible folding patterns. The paper hinges brought the panels closer together. This was to eliminate the need for intrusive frames separating panels and allowing a horizontal orientation of the picture plane which offered, through manipulation into different configurations, innovative approaches to the physical, psychological and narrative spatial of the pictures from the