Artwork
「高陽院駒競行幸絵巻」『栄花物語』 断簡|"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes
「高陽院駒競行幸絵巻」『栄花物語』 断簡|"Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes is an ink painting. It dates from 1266 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
The race was a real event in 1093, and the artist squeezed every detail, even the way the dust rises under the hooves, onto the page.
You see a long strip of paper crowded with tiny men in bright robes, horses rearing, and banners snapping in the wind. The scene is a royal horse race held at a noble’s garden in old Kyoto.
This scrap once belonged to a 200-foot scroll that told the whole story of an empress’s life. The race was a real event in 1093, and the artist squeezed every detail, even the way the dust rises under the hooves, onto the page.
To see how other artists painted Japanese court life, look up The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The handscroll segment illustrates an episode from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes describing an imperial procession to a grand horse race at the Kaya-no-in mansion. The composition centres on a male figure who embodies the visiting emperor, set against a backdrop of racing horses and courtly attendants. This imagery underscores the ceremonial authority of the sovereign and the prominence of equestrian contests within the narrative of courtly power.
By rendering the event as a historic narrative, the painting serves as a visual record of ritualised governance in thirteenth-century Japan.
Technique & Style
Created in 1266, this work is a segment cut from a handscroll and subsequently remounted as a hanging scroll. The artist executed the image using ink and mineral colours applied to a paper support. Stylistically, the piece functions as a history painting, depicting a male figure within a narrative context derived from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes.
The format indicates a deliberate curatorial decision to preserve and display this fragment independently from its original continuous scroll.
History & Provenance
The work titled "Imperial Visit to the Great Horse Race at the Kaya-no-in Mansion" from the Tale of Flowering Fortunes is a handscroll segment mounted as a hanging scroll, executed in ink and colour on paper in Japan in 1266 by an anonymous painter. It is classified as a history painting and depicts a man. The piece belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. No accession number or earlier provenance is documented in the available sources.
Overview
This fragment, originally part of a two‑hundred‑foot emakimono, depicts a royal horse race held in 1093 at the garden of the Kaya‑no‑in mansion in Kyoto. Rendered on paper with ink and color, the scene is presented as a narrow hanging scroll, densely populated with courtiers in vivid garments, rearing horses, and fluttering banners that convey the excitement of the event.
Context
Horse races were a recurring feature of Heian‑period court festivities, serving both as entertainment and as a display of aristocratic power. The Kaya‑no‑in mansion, a prominent aristocratic residence, hosted such events to reinforce social hierarchies and imperial connections.
Artist & collection
- 「六波羅行幸」 平治物語絵巻 断簡|Scene from “Imperial Visit to Rokuhara,” from The Tale of the Heiji Rebellion (Heiji monogatari)
The Emperor's Attendance at the Horse Race: Episode from the Tale of Eiga (Eiga Monogatari)
秋夜長物語|A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo nagamonogatari)
The Emperor's Attendance at the Horse Race: Episode from the Tale of Eiga (Eiga Monogatari)
住吉物語絵巻 詞書断簡|The Tale of Sumiyoshi
源氏物語図屏風「御幸」・「浮船」・「関谷」|“An Imperial Excursion” (Miyuki), “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune), and “The Barrier Gate” (Sekiya)
源氏物語画帖「玉鬘」|“A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura), from The Tale of Genji
