伝阿仏尼書　『続古今和歌集』断簡|Two Poems from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern, Continued (Zoku Kokin wakashū)

Nun Abutsu

13th century · Page from a booklet, mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Nun Abutsu (Abutsu-ni), one of the most celebrated woman writers of the age, earned literary fame for her moving account of palace and temple culture in her Diary of the Waning Moon (Izayoi nikki). Before taking Buddhist vows, she served as a lady-in-waiting in the palace and belonged to a circle of talented women writers. While there is no way to verify that this crisp but elegant calligraphy is in her hand, the style is characteristic of kana calligraphy of the era and of the elite society in which she lived. Kana calligraphy (used to inscribe Japanese phonetic characters) was referred to as onnade, or the “women’s hand,” since ladies of the court wrote letters, diaries, and prose in the vernacular, while men continued to write primarily in Chinese.

Artist

Nun Abutsu

Date

13th century

Medium

Page from a booklet, mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015