Important Cultural Property Portrait of Minamoto no Shitago from the Satake version of the Thirty-six Master Poets

This so-called kasen-e, or poetic genius scroll, depicts two of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, Kakinomoto no Hitimaro and Ki no Tsurayuki, along with examples of their poetry. This painting is part of the Satake version of scrolls depicting the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, so named because the scrolls were handed down in the Satake family of Akita. Originally there were two handscrolls containing all of the images, but in 1919, the handscrolls were cut up and the fragments remounted as hanging scrolls, with the various scrolls now scattered amongst numerous collections. The scroll in the Suntory collection includes a poem that extols the moon shining on a watery surface, and the mounting of the scroll has flowing ink patterns reminiscent of flowing water patterns. This careful juxtaposition allows viewers to enjoy the combination of poetic visual image and scroll mounting as a single art work.