Forty-nine scenes from the Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari), 『伊勢物語』, Edo period (1615?1868), mid-17th century, Japan, Pair of six-panel folding screens, with ninety-eight paintings and poem cards (shikishi) applied to gold leaf on paper; paintings: ink and red ink on paper, text: ink on paper, Image (each) : 42 1/4 in. ? 8 ft. 9 7/8 in. (107. 3 ? 268. 9 cm), Screens, The Tales of Ise has earned recognition as one of the great works of Japanese classical prose literature. Compiled in the tenth century, it comprises 124 short chapters. Each chapter relates an episode, sometimes amorous, in the life of an anonymous protagonist referred to simply as ?that man