Fujiwara Teika, from One Poet One Poem (Ikkasen isshu)

In this portrait of Fujiwara Teika (1162–1241), the celebrated poet is dressed in the formal garb of a courtier. Now mounted as a hanging scroll, this painting was once part of a long handscroll called One Poet One Poem (Ikkasen isshu), which featured portraits of revered poets alongside a single example of their poetry. The poem at right reads: Hitori nuru yamadori no o no shidario ni shimo iki mayou toko no tsukikage Frost has formed on the trailing tail of a solitary sleeping pheasant, its bed illuminated by a cold autumn moon. [Translated by Miyeko Murase]