Poems from Wakan Roeishu (Collection of Japanese and Chinese Verses) on Paper with Design of Reeds

The Wakan Roeishu is an anthology of Chinese and Japanese verse by mid-Heian poet Fujiwara Kinto. This copy of the work has been written on an ashide-e handscroll. According to the inscription, it was copied by Sesonji Koreyuki in 1160. Ashide-e is a painting technique, combining decorative motifs and words, that was in fashion in the late-Heian Period. This ashide-e includes reeds, water fowl, flying birds, rocks and wheels, in navy blue, greenish-blue, brownish-red and silver. This work is valuable not only as a complete edition of the Wakan Roei-shu, but also as a rare example of calligraphy on an ashide-e ground.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.