[Audio Guide]
The right-hand scroll of this painting depicts a woman in a kimono (kosode) and a robe (uchikake), her hair hanging down, while the left scroll shows a floating skeleton, the two positioned as if facing each other. However, when the scrolls are hung at the same height their gazes do not align, giving the work a cryptic air. Hints as to the woman’s identity can be found in her attire. The paulownia crest on her bosom indicates noble status, while the circular patterns on her robe are reminiscent of oxcart wheels with imperial implications. Inside these circles are yellow water-lily leaves, resembling hollyhocks (aoi) and suggesting that the woman might be Lady Rokujo from the “Aoi” chapter of The Tale of Genji. The artist left no written explanation of this work. He may have intended to juxtapose the fluid brushwork of traditional Japanese art with Western-style realism, or to convey the ephemerality of life and the inevitability of death. Both of the subjects are simply rendered, but the work contains hidden depths, appearing more mysterious and profound the more one views it.
