Let's
turn now to the Genji scroll illustrations, and first familiarize ourselves
with the unique living environment they depict. Almost all of the scroll
scenes are interior views that take us into the private quarters
of the characters in the novel. This is made possible by the highly original
and purely Japanese pictorial device of removing the roof so that we can
peep down in on the rooms and figures within. In this case we catch two
ladies trying to overhear the conversation of the gentlemen playing a game
of go in the adjacent room. Looking at these paintings, we feel
more like voyeurs than viewers, catching secret glimpses into a very private
world.