Tanzaku, poem by Fujiwara no Tameie 藤原為家 (1198–1275) | Gokashiwabara Tennō 御柏原天王 | 1464-1526

Even during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), emperors primarily performed ceremonial duties. Political power initially rested in the hands of shoguns, who—as the period's name suggests—residered in the Muromachi district of Kyoto. However, by the time of Emperor Gokashiwabara, both the court and the shogunate (following the devastating Ōnin War of 1467-1477) were in dire financial straits; Emperor Gokashiwabara had to wait 21 years until the necessary funds were raised to hold and pay for his enthronement festivities.

Ultimately, however, these economic circumstances, unless they descended into extremes, did not alter the traditional way of life at court. Courtiers and emperors wrote poetry or played music, visited places with blossoming cherry trees in spring and those with red foliage in autumn, and they lived off shrine and temple festivals where their presence was required. For centuries, they cultivated not only their own lifestyle and an elaborate language, but also their own tradition of painting and calligraphy.

This tanzaku (a traditional, fixed-sized piece of sturdy paper – later also cardboard) indicates the high level of literary education of Emperor Gokashiwabara. He calligraphed a poem by Fujiwara no Tameie, which was included in the supplementary volume (!) of an imperial poetry collection (Zoku Shūi Wakashū, 1270):

新玉の年は一夜を隔てにて/今日より春と立つ霞哉Aratama no toshi wa hito yo o hedate nite / kyō yori haru to tatsu kasumi kana   

In English:

Only one night separates the old year from the new, and already spring mist rises.

The paper is decoratively colored using an ancient technique dating back centuries. Following the lettering slowly with one's eyes, the elegance of a courtly sensibility gradually unfolds from character to character. The intricate Chinese characters (kanji), which are actually quite distinct from the flowing syllabic characters (kana), are all rendered here in a pleasantly fluid, dancing flow of thick to delicate brushstrokes across the tanzaku format.

The old mounting is also remarkable – it may date back to the 16th century. It is striking that the precious silk brocade apparently did not come in large individual pieces – smaller pieces had to be joined together at both the top and bottom to form a wide strip.