Fujiwara no Sadanobu

Fujiwara no Sadanobu's most famous surviving works come from his calligraphy of a segment of the poem anthology Tsurayuki-shū composed by Ki no Tsurayuki known as the Ishiyama-gire^[3] composed in the 12th century. In his work, he used a versatile and attractive style while mainting speed and power.^[4] The Tsurayuki-shū itself is part of a larger series of poems called the Anthology of Thirty-Six Poets(Nishi Honganji Sanjurokunin-shu), a compilation of poetry from the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry given to a Hongan-ji temple by Emperor Go-Nara in Tenmon 18. "Ishiyama" refers to the locality in Osaka where the temple once stood.^[2] His calligraphy is surprisingly modern for 12th-century Japan, decorating his paper with natural motifs like pampas grass, butterflies, and maple leaves.^[4] He often divided his paper into several planes of color joined at the edges. These edges were ragged or straight, to heighten visual interest. Sadanobu was a master of color and composition as well as calligraphy.^[5]

Poem anthologies were given as gifts in the Heian period, so great effort was taken to be aesthetically refined. The natural iconography also included other insects and plants, embellished in silver.^[1] In addition to natural imagery, he also used Chinese motifs, and sometimes printed them in mica using woodblocks.^[6]

The Ishiyama-gire is composed of waka short poems, that sometimes deal with death and departure. The two poems mourning a lost friend illustrated here read:

A beloved friend whom I met until yesterday is gone today,

swept away like mountain clouds.

How tragic that although we live,

whatever we have will surely die.^[5]