Hiragana Letter of New Year’s greetings
- Person
-
作者伝源頼朝
- Date
-
制作年 AD13
- Title
- カナショウソク（ネンガノフミ）
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
Traces of Indian black are visible here and there on the Japanese paper on which this letter is written, evidencing that the back of this paper had been used to write something else, a practice called shihai-monjo. The letter starts with a New Year’s greeting: “Singing of the bush warbler promises the coming of a spring of long-lasting prosperity.” Originally, this letter must have consisted of two pages, but, since the last page with the names of the addressee and sender is missing, details are still unknown. However, it is attributed to Minamoto no Yoritomo from the characteristic style of handwriting. Calligraphy appreciators of the Edo Period customarily attributed handwriting of a similar style to Minamoto no Yoritomo or the Priest Saigyo (1118-90). However, compared with Yoritomo’s authentic letter (preserved at the Kongo-buji Temple archives), the letter shown here is obviously executed by someone else. The style, without doubt, belongs to the latter Heian and early Kamakura periods. In those days, hiragana (cursive Japanese) letters were usually written by women, whether they were addressed to male or female readers, or by men when addressing women. Bold and strong touches of the brush with dynamic strokes characterize this letter, so it was most likely written by a man to a woman.Although it is not clear when the tradition of exchanging New Year’s greetings was started in Japan, the oldest surviving greetings are attributed to Tendai Prelate Myoun (1115-83). (It is preserved as shihai-monjo in the Hyohanki of the Yomei Bunko Library.) As an early sample of a kana-written letter carrying New Year’s greetings, it has tremendous value in the research of Japanese classics.
(6)□さかへに(5)よへも申し候てたゝ□たへて まいらせ候御すく御いのちも せのめてたさ(1)ちよをたもたせ おはしますへきはつねの(7)せんしう はんせいのつるかめにも(2)春のしるしいつしかめてたくうれしく候 こその(8)なをかす そはせおはします又よに(3)しはすころまてこもりの御すまゐ□なと(9)ためしなくおほえ候このよのかり候てかく(4)みまいらせ候しにはなの春よろこひを(10)さかへ 候へは たれも きみのこかけにあをきけめ
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- Hiragana Letter of New Year’s greetings
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Quantity 1幅
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