Title: Sanjurokkasen (The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry), Circa 1603-1750. A Collection of Famed Poetry on Thirty-Six Beautifully Painted and Illuminated Silk Leaves, Owned by Japanese Royalty
Author: Various; Owned by a member of the Fushimi-no-miya Family; Poetry Originally Compiled by Fujiwara no Kinto
Condition: Very Good
An Early to Mid Edo Period, 17th to mid 18th century manuscript collection of the Sanjurokkasen, also more famously known as the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, in thirty-six painted silk sheets of calligraphy.
Selected by Fujiwara no Kintō of the Heian Period, they are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian Periods as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability.
Since that, various editions of the Sanjurokkasen have been produced, from the Thirty-Six Female Immortals of Poetry, the New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, and even the Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, each with a unique selection of poets.
Each poem for their respective poet is produced on beautifully decorated shikishi leaves, of which have been beautifully painted with gold spray, clouds, and colorful flowers, brightly enhancing the calligraphy.
All the poetry is wrapped in a cloth and stored in a wooden box for preservation. Interesting, the box bears the crest of the Fushimi-no-miya branch of the imperial family of Japan, indicating some prior ownership by one of its many members. It is possible that at least one of the authors of a sheet of calligraphy was a member of the branch family, but I have not transcribed a full list.
36 illuminated shikishi format leaves on silk, 11.7 x 10.8 cm
These manuscripts are in very good shape, with minor soiling to the leaves.