Kumano Kaishi (in the hand of Emperor Gotoba, with writings by Fujiwara no Ietaka and Jakuren)

Poems Written on the Road to Kumano

The Kumano Kaishi (in the hand of Emperor Gotoba, with writings by Fujiwara no Ietaka and Jakuren) (熊野懐紙〈後鳥羽天皇宸翰／藤原家隆・寂蓮筆〉) are three hanging scrolls of poem sheets written at poetry gatherings during a pilgrimage to Kumano by Emperor Go-Toba and the poets Fujiwara no Ietaka and Jakuren, held by the Yomei Bunko in Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and designated a National Treasure on March 31, 1953. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates them to 1201, in the Kamakura period.

The Yomei Bunko was founded in 1938 by Konoe Fumimaro to preserve the documents, books and art handed down in the Konoe family, the senior of the five regent houses, according to Kyoto City's museum search site.

Why They Are a National Treasure

According to e-Kokuho, the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage's database, Emperor Go-Toba was devoted to the three shrines of Kumano and made the arduous month-long round trip there 27 times in his life. To lighten the journey he frequently held poetry gatherings with his companions, and the sheets on which each wrote a poem on an assigned theme are known as Kumano kaishi.

Some 30-odd sheets survive today. Because they carry the writers' signatures and can be dated closely, they are prized as benchmark examples of calligraphy from the early Kamakura period, e-Kokuho explains. The three scrolls at Yomei Bunko gain weight from bringing together the hand of Go-Toba himself, a compiler of imperial poetry, with those of the court poets Fujiwara no Ietaka and Jakuren.

A separate National Treasure also called Kumano Kaishi, a scroll of 11 sheets beginning with one by Go-Toba, belongs to Hongwanji and is a different designation from the Yomei Bunko scrolls.

What to Look For

A kaishi is a sheet on which a poem composed at a gathering was written out in a set format. Seen together, the three scrolls let you compare an emperor's hand with those of two poets, all writing in the same format on the same journey.

What e-Kokuho stresses is the meaning of having both signatures and dates. Calligraphy whose writer and date are known becomes a yardstick for dating and attributing other works of its time, which is why the Kumano kaishi are called benchmark works of the early Kamakura period.

Seeing the Kumano Kaishi

The Yomei Bunko offers guided visits of its premises from March to May and from September to November each year, according to the foundation. Visits are for groups of 20 or more, booked by telephone, from ¥1,500 per person. Displays change by season, so ask in advance whether the Kumano Kaishi will be shown.

The Yomei Bunko is at 1-2 Utano Kaminotani-cho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto (075-461-7550). Kyoto City's museum site advises checking the foundation's website for opening and fees.