Scenes from court literature

This screen illustrates an episode, most likely from The Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari) by an anonymous writer in the Heian period (794-1185). The Tales of Ise consisted of 125 love stories and episodes involving aristocratic men and women.

On the screen a nobleman, hidden behind a hedge, is trying to get a good look at a lady seated inside a house. Having heard about her beauty and driven by curiosity, he has come far to this desolate area. In this ancient period, courtship between young nobles typically began like this: A man would hear about a woman-her beauty, her high birth, and her excellent ability in poetry writing-and to confirm her beauty he would spy on her. If he decided to pursue her, he would write poems to her and have someone deliver them; if he was lucky, she would write him lovely poetic responses.