Nagisa Palace from the Tales of Iselate 1800s · Study 1981.2

Context from the museum

This screen depicts an episode from the Tales of Ise , a 10th-century collection of poems and associated narratives in which the main character composes the following poem while drinking sake and viewing cherry blossoms: If, in this world of ours / All the cherry blossoms / Disappeared / The heart of spring / Might find peace. Our hero relaxes on a shoulder rest, gazing at the flowers, his sake dish before him on a lacquered stand. A plump boy attendant monitors the sake dishes, a ewer at the ready. An associate sits with paper, ink, and brush, poised to record poems.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected painting only measurement for Nagisa Palace from the Tales of Ise is 177.5 cm wide and 162.4 cm high, equivalent to approximately 69.9 × 63.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.09:1. The rectangular bounding area is 2.88 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 59.2% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 61.3 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Nagisa Palace from the Tales of Ise in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Two-panel folding screen; ink, color, lacquer, and gold on silk, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 177.5 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?