Selections from the New Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times (Shinkokin wakashū) with Printed Designs of Plants and Animals, Hon'ami Kōetsu

As part of the renaissance that fol­lowed decades of warfare in the sixteenth century, the artists of Kyoto looked to the court traditions of calligraphy, poetry, and painting for models that reflected the past glory of the city and the ascendancy of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185). A leader in this revival of clas­sical tradition, Hon'ami Koetsu transcribed ten verses by revered poets of the Heian period on colored papers printed with shimmering mica designs that evoke a sense of the decorated poetry transcriptions of that golden age. His celebrated calligraphy is brushed dynamically across the surface of the paper in a style known as "scattered writing" (chirashi-gaki). The rhythm and intensity of ink allow the fluid characters to harmonize with the rhythm of the paper decoration. His brush strokes display strong contrasts of thick and thin, a personal style likely modeled after the Chinese calligra­phy of Zhang Jizhi (1186-1266), whose work was collected and treasured in Japan. The ten poems in the handscroll fragment are taken from one of the most famous and influential poetry anthologies from Ancient and Modern Times, commissioned by the retired emperor Go-Toba in 1201. The designs of woodblock-printed mica include paulownia trees, floating grasses, deer and trees, flowering plum branches, dragonflies, flying cranes, hydrangeas, and plum shoots. They are similar to decorations and design motifs seen in contemporary poem cards, and in the printed books designed and produced by Koetsu and the merchant-calligrapher, Suminokura Soan. Koetsu is also known to have frequently collaborated with the artist Tawaraya Sotatsu (died ca. 1640), another leader in the revival of Heian period styles. The printed designs on this scroll have been attributed to Sotatsu, or his studio.