Kohitsugire, a paper sheet of ancient calligraphy, was originally a leaf of an ancient manuscript written mainly in the Heian-Kamakura period. Most of them have small certificates (called kiwamefuda) drawn by connoisseurs. Calligraphical and graphological investigations, however, occasionally suggest different written age of kohitsugire from the period when the writer noted on the kiwamefuda had flourished as a calligraphist in Japanese history.
Therefore, we measured radiocarbon ages of kohitsugire sheets traditionally attributed three famous calligraphists: Taira no Norikane, Shunkan and Fujiwara no Yukiyoshi. The purpose of this study is to clarify the difference between the written age and the description of kiwamefuda.
Kasugagire is a generic name of kohitsugire sheets which have white rules and were written on Japanese paper decorated with pieces of mica. Kasugagire were cut from a manuscript traditionally attributed to Taira no Norikane (?-1185-1209-?), according to their kiwamefuda. The paleographical investigation, however, indicated that he did not write the calligraphy but checked the manuscript against the original book. The calibrated radiocarbon age of kasugagire was 1192-1277 [cal AD] (2-sigma). The radiocarbon dating and the paleographical study suggest that kasugagire was written by the early 13th century.
Miwagire is a generic name of kohitsugire leaves cut from a manuscript of Kokinwakasyu. The manuscript is traditionally attributed to Shunkan (?-1179), a priest of the Hosshoji temple in Kyoto. He was concerned in the “Shishigatani no bogi” conspiracy to subvert the Taira warrior domination in 1177 and exiled to the Kikaigashima Island. He became famous as a tragic hero of joruri play and yomihon novel. Although the miwagire should have been written by 1177 according to the kiwamefuda, it is commonly accepted in the region of calligraphical study that the calligraphy of miwagire has a style peculiar to Kamakura period (1192-1333). The calibrated radiocarbon age of miwagire was 1300-1399 [cal AD] (2-sigma). The radiocarbon dating and the calligraphical viewpoint suggest that miwagire was written in the early 14th century and not by Shunkan.
The manuscripts of the anthology of Saigu no nyogo Kishi's poetry are generally classified into four genealogies. However, there is a kohitsugire which does not belong to any of four genealogies. Although the kiwamefuda shows that the handwriting is attributed to Fujiwara no Yukiyoshi (1179-1250?) who is well-known as one of the greatest three of sesonji style of calligraphy, radiocarbon age (1292-1391 [cal AD], 2-sigma) indicated that it was not written by Fujiwara no Yukiyoshi.
See more of Poster Session II
See more of The 10th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (September 5-10, 2005)