But
at the very same time that the Genji scroll was being composed in the early
twelfth century, its world was being threatened by newly rising social
forces. This comparison suggests the confrontation, on the left the composed
and elegant ladies of the Heian court, seemingly oblivious to the impending
fate, and on the right some faces from a popular religious scroll painting
of about the same time. The new faces are richly expressive, almost defiant
in their rejection of the subtle and hidden emotions of the Genji scroll,
lunging forward against the static world of the Heian aristocracy.