Anthology with Cranes and Thirty-Six Immortal Poets Letter Paper / Benrido

The Letter Paper by Benrido features the Important Cultural Property: Anthology with Cranes and Thirty-Six Immortal Poets Waka Scroll from the Kyoto National Museum Collection. This artwork represents a miraculous collaboration between Tawaraya Sotatsu, founder of the Rimpa school, and Hon'ami Koetsu, one of the Three Great Calligraphers of the Kan'ei Era. In the original 13-meter-long scroll, Sotatsu painted an underpainting of cranes taking flight, dancing, and returning to rest on the shore, over which Koetsu wrote waka poems by the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets in dynamic calligraphy emphasizing thick and thin brushstrokes.