Artwork

秋夜長物語絵巻|A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari)

秋夜長物語絵巻|A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari) is an ink painting. It dates from 1400 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The handscroll titled 秋夜長物語絵巻 | A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari) portrays a scene that includes a boat, a horse, a man, and a woman.

The handscroll titled 秋夜長物語絵巻 | A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari) portrays a scene that includes a boat, a horse, a man, and a woman. These figures constitute the visual subject of the work, while its classification as an allegory indicates that the composition conveys a symbolic narrative rather than a literal depiction. The travel-related motifs of the boat and horse suggest themes of movement and transience, and the human figures underscore a story-like progression.

The work dates to around 1400 and is one of a set of three handscrolls held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Technique & Style

Aki no yo nagamonogatari is executed in ink, color, and gold on paper, taking the form of one handscroll from a set of three. The combination of gold with ink and polychrome pigments on a paper support is characteristic of the decorative narrative handscroll tradition of early fifteenth-century Japanese painting. The work is classified as an allegorical painting, and its pictorial subjects, a boat, a horse, a man, and a woman, are rendered within the continuous handscroll format. No further details regarding handling, condition, or specific stylistic features are documented in the available sources.

History & Provenance

Created in Japan around 1400, this handscroll is attributed to an anonymous artist. Originally part of a set of three scrolls, the work is executed in ink, color, and gold on paper. It is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, catalogued under accession number 2002.459.1.

The specific circumstances of its commission and its ownership prior to the museum are not recorded. It is classified as an allegorical work depicting a boat, a horse, a man, and a woman; the other scrolls of the set are not presently identified, and no exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

Overview

This handscroll, titled "A Long Tale for an Autumn Night" (Aki no yo nagamonogatari), is one component of a larger three-part narrative work. Executed with ink, color, and gold on paper, it presents a continuous visual story. The scroll depicts a vibrant Japanese setting, filled with numerous figures engaged in various activities, alongside horses and boats, suggesting a complex unfolding drama.