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Fujiwara no Sadanobu(藤原定信, 1088–1156) was a 
He came from the Sesson-ji lineage of calligraphers as the son of
The Ishiyama-gire is composed of waka short poems, that sometimes deal with death and departure. The two poems mourning a lost friend illustrated here read:
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
calligrapher. He is known primarily for his hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''.
It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...
poetry transcriptions.
He came from the Sesson-ji lineage of calligraphers as the son of Fujiwara no Sadazane
was a Japanese calligrapher during the Heian period.
Lineage
Sadazane was the son of and he was also a descendant of Fujiwara no Yukinari;
Sadazane's place in a ''Sesonji'' lineage of calligraphers provides a context for his life and work:
* ...
and fifth-generation descendant of its founder, Fujiwara no Yukinari
, also known as Fujiwara no Kōzei, was a Japanese people, Japanese calligrapher (''shodoka'') during the Heian period, Heian period. He was memorialized for his prowess in his chosen art by being remembered as one of the outstanding Three Brush ...
. He is said to have been a very fast and graceful writer, and that he copied the entire Issaikyo, the body of all Buddhist literature, in 23 years.
Ishiyama-gire
Fujiwara no Sadanobu's most famous surviving works come from his calligraphy of a segment of the poem anthology Tsurayuki-shū composed by Ki no Tsurayuki known as the Ishiyama-gire composed in the 12th century. In his work, he used a versatile and attractive style while mainting speed and power. The Tsurayuki-shū itself is part of a larger series of poems called the Anthology of Thirty-Six Poets(Nishi Honganji Sanjurokunin-shu), a compilation of poetry from theThirty-Six Immortals of Poetry
The are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets' works is ''Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu'' ...
given to a Hongan-ji
, also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple bui ...
temple by Emperor Go-Nara
was the 105th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from June 9, 1526 until his death in 1557, during the Sengoku period. His personal name was Tomohito (知仁).
Genealogy
He was the second son of Emper ...
in Tenmon 18. "Ishiyama" refers to the locality in Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
where the temple once stood. His calligraphy is surprisingly modern for 12th-century Japan, decorating his paper with natural motifs like pampas grass, butterflies, and maple leaves. He often divided his paper into several planes of color joined at the edges. These edges were ragged or straight, to heighten visual interest. Sadanobu was a master of color and composition as well as calligraphy.
Poem anthologies were given as gifts in the Heian period, so great effort was taken to be aesthetically refined. The natural iconography also included other insects and plants, embellished in silver. In addition to natural imagery, he also used Chinese motifs, and sometimes printed them in mica using woodblocks.
The Ishiyama-gire is composed of waka short poems, that sometimes deal with death and departure. The two poems mourning a lost friend illustrated here read:
A beloved friend whom I met until yesterday is gone today, swept away like mountain clouds. How tragic that although we live, whatever we have will surely die.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadanobu, Fujiwara no 1088 births 1156 deaths 12th-century Japanese calligraphers