Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum Kana no Bi Exhibition "Saigyo's 'Sankashu': Calligraphy beloved by Kumagai Tsuneko"

　The Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum will be holding the Kana no Bi exhibition.
　This exhibition will introduce calligraphy that Tsuneko was familiar with, with a focus on Sankashu, a collection of waka poems by the Heian period monk Saigyo (1118-1190). Saigyo served as a samurai for Emperor Toba (1103-1156). In 1140, he became a monk under the name Saigyo Hoshi, travelled around Japan, and in his later years lived in a hermitage at Kokawa-dera Temple in Osaka, where he passed away in 1190. Tsuneko's assessment of Saigyo is that "he was a northern warrior who served the retired Emperor Toba, but after becoming a monk he became known as Saigyo or En'i and was renowned as a poet."

　Tsuneko copied the Ichijo Setsuseishū, which is said to have been written by Saigyo, and became interested in Saigyo's waka poetry and calligraphy. Ichijo Setsuseishū is a collection of poems by Fujiwara Koretada (924-972), the Ichijo regent of the Heian period, and is also attracting attention as a tale of poetry. Tsuneko praised the handwriting in Ichijo Setsuseishū, saying, "The characters are large and free-flowing. The style is not restrictive, so it is familiar." Tsuneko, who treasured Saigyo's Sankashu, repeatedly copied Ichijo Setsuseishū, pursuing fluent calligraphy that matched Saigyo's style of poetry, and produced many works.

　This exhibition will feature works such as "Ise no Nishi" (c. 1934), which expresses a poem from "Sankashu" that Saigyo composed when he visited Bishamon-do Temple on Mt. Fukuo in Mie and established a hermitage at Umegaoka at the foot of the mountain, and "Yoshinoyama" (1985), which is based on a poem from "Sankashu" that praises the arrival of spring scenery on Mt. Yoshino in Nara. Please enjoy the works of Tsuneko, who has been familiar with Saigyo's waka and calligraphy.

December 7th (Sat), 4nd year of Reiwa-Sunday, April 19th, 7rd year of Reiwa 　

Schedule	9:00~16:30 (Entry until 16:00)
Venue	Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum
Genre	Exhibitions / Events

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