Exhibitions
Immersive Reading: Iwasa Matabei’s Tale of Princess Jōruri
2025.09.12(Fri) - 2025.10.21(Tue)
Overview
The picture scroll The Tale of Princess Jōruri tells a love story involving a young man Ushiwakamaru, traveling to the northern country, and a daughter of Lord of Yahagi in Mikawa Province, through an array of illustrations. Vibrant colors and dexterous brushwork breathe life into the scenes. The minute details down to costume designs and furniture in the background are rendered using expensive materials such as gold leaves, gold and silver paints, verdigris and azurite. This is arguably the most elaborate and opulent work among the handscrolls attributed to Iwasa Matabei.
The exhibition curates this illustrated The Tale of Princess Jōruri (Important Cultural Property) in its fullest form, a total of 12 scrolls, with accompanying high-definition imagery, projected on a super-wide screen. Immerse yourself in Matabei’s vibrant narrative world.
The Tale of Princess Jōruri Vol. 1 (detail)
みどころ
Complete viewing of The Tale of Princess Jōruri (Important Cultural Property)
This masterpiece is arguably the most elaborate and opulent handscroll attributed to Iwasa Matabei. Every detail is elegantly rendered, from costume designs to furniture in the background.
Savor the sumptuous details of the story along over 60 meters of illustrations on display.
The Tale of Princess Jōruri Vol. 3 (detail)
Zoom in through a magnifying glass of high-definition imagery
Iwasa Matabei was adept at depicting fine details with breathtaking imagination. He depicted every detail in the narrative truthfully, from the attire of Yoshitsune (Ushiwakamaru) to the decorations and makie-adorned furnishings of Jōruri’s residence. These details are magnified in high-definition imagery and shown on the wide screen in the gallery. Delve into the story with the delectable reconstruction of scenes as Matabei intended.
The Tale of Princess Jōruri Vol. 4 (detail)
The Tale of Princess Jōruri Vol. 5 (detail)
The Tale of Princess Jōruri Vol. 11 (detail)
About The Tale of Princess Jōruri
Important Cultural Property, the illustrated scrolls of The Tale of Princess Jōruri
A set of scrolls that illustrates a popular narrative, the Tale of Princess Jōruri, over 12 volumes. The set was passed down in the Matsudaira clan of the Tsuyama Domain (Okayama). The provenance and materials used for mounting suggest that the work was commissioned by Lord Matsudaira Tadanao of Tsuyama Domain (or his close relatives).
The origin of The Tale of Princess Jōruri
The Tale of Princess Jōruri falls under the category of “hōganmono” tales, narratives inspired by the legends about Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune). The story follows Ushiwakamaru on his way to Mutsu Province after his coming of age, falling in love with a young woman, Princess Jōruri.
The original story derived from an oral tradition in the mid Muromachi period (15th century), where Buddhist monks would recite the tale to the biwa (wooden lute). This tradition of storytelling against tunes became the foundation of musical puppetry known today as “jōruri.”
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