Title: Unidentified Waka Calligraphy Attributed to a Student of Fujiwara no Tameyo, Circa 1310-1360. Late Kamakura to Nanbokucho Period Manuscript on a Shikishi Leaf
Author: Priest Ton'a
Condition: Very Good
A late Kamakura to Nanbokucho Period, 13th to 14th century example of waka poetry, neatly mounted onto a sheet of shikishi paper, inscribed in fine calligraphy, and attributed to the priest, Ton'a, who was active during the early to mid 14th century.
A Japanese Buddhist poet who was a student of Nijō Tameyo, Ton'a took a tonsure at Enryaku-ji Temple, but was later associated with the Ji sect (founded by Ippen).
A notable example of one of his works is in the Ei Sanshu Waka, produced in 1367, when Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira hosted a poetry gathering at Nii-Tamatsushima Shrine. The scroll consists of three poems including one penned by Ton'a, and the script's casual arrangements indicates influence from Fujiwara no Yukinari. The scroll originally was owned by Fujita Denzaburō until 1934, subsequently sold in Kyoto in 2014 to collectors Mary and Cheney Cowles, who then donated the scroll to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2022 (Accession 2022.432.5).
One shikishi sheet, 21.9 x 14.1 cm
This manuscript is in very good shape, with minor wear and staining to the sheet, and a bit of text loss to the accompanying label.