, also known as Fujiwara no Kōzei, was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

(''shodoka'') during the Heian period. He was memorialized for his prowess in his chosen art by being remembered as one of the outstanding Three Brush Traces (

Sanseki The term ''Sanseki'' (三跡) or "three rushtraces" is used in Japanese to refer to a group of three famous Heian period calligraphers: * Ono no Michikaze, known as ''Yaseki'' from the character 野 in his name. *Fujiwara no Yukinari , also kno ...

三跡), along with

Ono no Michikaze was a Japanese calligrapher who was a prominent ''Shodōka'' (Japanese calligrapher) during the Heian period (794–1185). One of the so-called Sanseki 三跡 (Three Brush Traces), along with Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Fujiwara no Yukinari, Michi ...

and Fujiwara no Sukemasa.

Life

Yukinari was the son of a courtier by the name of

Fujiwara no Yoshitaka was a Japanese ''waka (poetry), waka'' poet of the mid-Heian period. One of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. He produced a private ''waka'' collection, the ''Yoshitaka-shū''. Biography Yoshitaka was born in 954, the son ...

. After the early death of his father, he was raised by his grandfather, Prince Kanenori. Yukinari had a fairly successful career as a court official, where he served as a Major Counselor. Yukinari further improved the Japanese style calligraphy (''wayō-shodō'' 和様書道), and showed great respect to its founder,

(894-966). He even mentioned in his diary, ''Gonki'', that he had a dream wherein he met Michikaze and learnt calligraphy from him. Yukinari was known as the master of

kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most p ...

. His style was mild and easily emulated, his lines were dainty and exquisite, resulting in highly elegant characters. Fujiwara Yukinari is regarded as the founder of the Sesonji lineage of calligraphy, which later became the leading tradition of wayō (和様) calligraphy. His extant works were most written in Mana (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

characters used as units of meaning) in Gyōsho or

Sōsho Cursive script (; , ''sōshotai''; , ''choseo''; ), often mistranslated as grass script, is a script style used in Chinese and East Asian calligraphy. It is an umbrella term for the cursive variants of the clerical script and the regular s ...

Works

One of his most well-known works is the handscroll of

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

's eight poems from volume 65 of his Poetic Anthology. He wrote this masterpiece in 1018 when he was forty-seven years old. The scroll was made by joining together nine pieces of specially prepared paper known as ryoshi, then dyed in light brown, claret, and other shades. This handscroll was treasured by

Emperor Fushimi was the 92nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1287 through 1298. Name Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was . Although the ...

(reigned from 1288 to 1298), and the colophon over the seams on the back of the paper attests to this. Currently, the scroll is stored in the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...

. He left a diary the gonki and a recently discovered book of Ceremonies for annual events called Sinsen Nenchugyoji.

References

External links

Artnet Artist's biographies: Fujiwara no Kozei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara no, Yukinari 10th-century Japanese calligraphers 972 births 1027 deaths 11th-century Japanese calligraphers

Life

Works

See also

References

External links