CLAREMONT — “The Tale of Genji,” written over 1,000 years ago by the Japanese court lady Murasaki Shikibu, has greatly influenced Japanese culture, seen in paintings, prints, short stories, novels, noh plays, kabuki performances, operas, movies, symphonies, manga and anime.
“Genji’s World in Japanese Woodblock Prints,” which opens this weekend at Scripps College’s Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, will feature a rich array of woodblock prints by many of Japan’s leading artists, drawn from the Scripps College collection and the personal collection of Jack and Paulette Lantz.
An opening reception will be held in the gallery on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. On the same day, from 4 to 5 p.m., in the Clark Humanities Museum on campus, Dr. Sarah Thompson of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will present a lecture entitled “The Shining Prince on Stage: Inaka Genji in Kabuki Plays and Prints.” The events and the exhibition are free and open to the public.
The exhibition is accompanied by an elaborately illustrated book, edited by Dr. Andreas Marks and published by Hotei Publishing. The exhibition is organized by Dr. Bruce Coats, professor of art history and humanities, in conjunction with two classes on Japanese arts. The book is funded in part by the Blakemore Foundation, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Union Bank, and the Aoki Endowment for Japanese Arts and Cultures.
The exhibition runs through Dec. 16 and will then travel to four other U.S. museums.
The gallery is located in the courtyard adjacent to Eleventh Street and Columbia Avenue, just north of the Baxter Building (Campus Security) at 251 E. Eleventh St. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. during exhibitions. The gallery is closed Monday and Tuesday and in between shows.
Free parking is available around the museum. The museum is handicapped accessible. For group tours, make a reservation by calling Kirk Delman, collection manager, (909) 607-3397.
For more information, visit www.scrippscollege.edu or call (909) 607-7397.