The Tale of Genji

This digitized art film from the Harwell Hamilton Harris Papers is an adaptation of the classic work of Japanese literature, The Tail of Genji. The moving image conveys the elaborate story by filming segments of a painted 17th century Japanese folding screen located in Harris’s Turtle Creek Apartment in Dallas, Texas. The Tail of Genji, written in the 11th century, tells of high courtiers involved in a battle between two important medieval feudal tribes. Harris, wife, Jean Harris, architect Downing Thomas, and professional filmmaker Bob Jessup created the short unfinished film after discovering that the ornate folding screen exactly illustrated the classic tale. Asian influence of art, sculpture, and architecture can also be observed in Harris’s professional work.