# Clouds of Prince Genji

- By: Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807-1891)
- Date: summer 1885
- Medium: Color woodblock print; surimono
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: 56.5 × 42 cm (22 1/4 × 16 9/16 in.)
- Culture: Japan
- Credit line: Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/43719)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/76178d27-7fc5-1445-d301-7b2821f526b4/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This print by Shibata Zeshin was commissioned by the poet Hozan. Created two years later than The Cup of Long Life, it also celebrates longevity. Not only is Zeshin’s age prominently displayed (he signed the print: “the 79-year-old Zeshin”) but the occasion for the print is the commemoration of the 70th birthdays of a number of poets in Hozan’s circle. The print’s depiction of summer plants enclosed by stylized cloud banks references Tosa-school gold clouds and classical Genji images. These were favored by 19th-century poets, who saw themselves (if half in jest) as later versions of heroes from the classical age of poetry and sensitivity.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0