Case (Inrō) with Design of Courtier and Lady in a Boat (from the Tale of Genji) 18th century

Editor: Here we have an 18th-century Inrō case, attributed to Ogata Kōrin, depicting a courtier and lady in a boat from the Tale of Genji. The ivory and miniature drawing have such delicacy, but at the same time the depiction is somehow graphic. What's your reading of it? Curator: Oh, this little world! It makes me think of whispered secrets on silken sleeves. Inro cases, especially from the Edo period, weren’t just pretty objects, they were status symbols. The Tale of Genji would have been something akin to today's popular series—almost universally known. Seeing these courtly figures immortalized on something so personal...it’s intimate. The artist’s distilled the essence of the narrative down. Don't you think? Editor: Intimate, yes, precisely. Because the form is so small! Is the geometric abstraction—the stylized wave patterns, the simplified boat shape—typical of Kōrin? Curator: Good eye! Kōrin’s known for that daring combination of naturalism and abstraction. Look at the waves— they are both waves and ornamentation. It creates this feeling of floating, dreamy detachment, almost as if this scene exists both inside and outside the 'real' world, contained in a case. He takes the Genji and sets it gently on the waters of art. And it’s Ukiyo-e too… floating world! Serene. Don't you agree? Editor: Yes! The serenity really comes through, even in something so small. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure! I look at this and remember to not let the beauty of things, no matter how miniature, escape. A real reflection of inner life through the tiniest of windows!