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Isawa Matabei

Joruri Monogatari

17th century
Handscroll; wood case
36.9 × 1944.4 cm (14.5 × 765.5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This handscroll (one of a pair) depicts the Tale of Jōruri (Jōruri monogatari), a love story between Princess Jōruri, a wealthy lord’s daughter, and Ushiwaka (later known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune), heir to the famous Genji clan and one of the most renowned warriors of medieval Japan. Iwasa Matabei was a Japanese painter whose workshop catered to the newly prosperous merchant class—which had an appetite for tales of the courtly past—by bridging the medieval and premodern depictions of classical Japanese narratives.

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