黒木碁石店

Tale of Genji illustrated on shells "賢木/Sakaki"

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This is a clamshell combination of "Illustrated Tale of Genji".

These clamshells were designed for shell-matching game, which was popular with court aristocrats during the Heian period of Japan (9th to 12th century).
They are also called the "origin of Uta-Karuta" (traditional poem cards).
In order to express the elegance of the dynastic culture, clamshells are colored with gold color.

This will make an ideal gift for a wedding, or other joyous events such as seasonal festivals.

Hand-painted by artisans using Japanese clams with gold color.
This product is a only one item.

This will make an ideal gift for a wedding, or other joyous events such as seasonal festivals.

The "Tale of Genji" is a long tale written by Murasaki Shikibu in the mid-Heian period.
It is said to have been first published in 1008, and is the only work of the author Murasaki Shikibu in her lifetime.

The story depicts the aristocratic society of the Heian period (794-1185), including love, glory and downfall, political desires, and power struggles, through the main character Hikaru Genji, and is one of the most representative classical literature in Japan.

Murasaki Shikibu, a lowly aristocrat, married "Fujiwara-no-Noritaka" in her late 20s and had a daughter, but her husband died about three years after their marriage, and she began writing stories to forget the reality of her marriage, which is said to be the beginning of "The Tale of Genji".
Since paper was very precious in those days, she enjoyed writing whenever someone offered her a piece of paper and critiquing each other's work among her friends, etc. Her reputation gradually spread, and Michinaga Fujiwara invited Murasaki Shikibu as a tutor for his daughter, Akiko Nakamiya.
Murasaki Shikibu took this opportunity to move up to the court, and while serving the court, she continued to write stories under the support of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and completed "The Tale of Genji" consisting of 54 chapters.
The Tale of Genji was illustrated as "The Tale of Genji Picture Scroll" in the late Heian period (794-1185), about 150 years after its first appearance in the literature.
Of the existing picture scrolls, those owned by the Tokugawa Art Museum and the Goto Art Museum are national treasures.
The Tale of Genji" has been translated into more than 20 languages and is now read not only in Japan but also in many other countries around the world.

"賢木/Sakaki" is the 10th of the fifty-four chapters of "The Tale of Genji".
The name of the volume, "Sakaki" is derived from the waka poems.
  • "Tale of Genji" illustrated on shells 【賢木/Sakaki】
  • Contained in a plastic case
  • Crafted by Oishi Tengu-do in Kyoto city, Japan
  • Size : length 107 ㎜ × width 107 ㎜ × height 68 ㎜
  • Weight:about 540 g

  • Please bear the actual cost for shipping charges outside Japan.
  • As the products are made of natural materials and manufactured by hand, they may have some defects.
    We try to provide as much information as possible in text and images, but please understand that there may be cases where such defects are not shown.

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