Kasen-e

A portrait of a poet who excelled in waka poetry. Popular from the early Kamakura period through the Edo period, it usually refers to a portrait of a poet accompanied by one of their poems and sometimes a brief biography. The use of portraits of immortal poets, such as the Rokkasen and Thirty-six Immortal Poets, as the subject of paintings became popular from the beginning of the Kamakura period, and it is believed that this was due to the combination of the popularity of waka poetry at the time and the rise of portrait paintings (Yamato-e portraits). From then until the early modern period, they were produced in various formats such as scrolls, picture albums, and plaques, and many of them remain. The most famous of these is the "Illustrated Scroll of the Thirty-six Immortal Poets" (Kamakura period), formerly owned by the Satake family and said to be illustrated by Fujiwara Nobuzane and written by Gokyogoku Yoshitsune. Originally consisting of two volumes, it depicts 36 immortal poets, including Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, in portrait form, but is now cut into individual figures and collected by various families. The so-called agedatami version depicts each immortal poet seated on an upper tatami mat, and was also a scroll that was passed down in pieces. A fragment of the Shakyō Thirty-six Immortal Poets Scroll has also been handed down. In the early modern period, the format was diverse, and immortal poets were particularly popular for plaques dedicated to shrines, and examples of surviving include Iwasa Katsumochi's (Matabei) Thirty-six Immortal Poets Picture Frame (Kitain, Kawagoe City). Other famous works include Kano Tan'yū's New Thirty-six Immortal Poets Painting Album and Ogata Korin's Thirty-six Immortal Poets Screen.

[Yasushi Murashige]

"Mori Nobuaki ed., Newly Revised Complete Collection of Japanese Picture Scrolls 19: Thirty-six Immortal Poets" (1979, Kadokawa Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

和歌に秀でた歌人の画像。鎌倉初期から江戸時代まで盛行し、普通、歌人の肖像にその歌1首を、ときに略伝を添えたものをさす。六歌仙や三十六歌仙などの歌仙の姿絵を画題に扱うことは鎌倉時代の初めごろから盛行するが、その原因としては、当時の和歌の流行と似絵(にせえ)（大和絵(やまとえ)肖像画）の隆盛とが結び付いて興隆したものと考えられている。その後近世に至るまで巻物、画帖(がじょう)、扁額(へんがく)などの諸形式にわたって制作され、遺品の数も多い。なかでも藤原信実(のぶざね)絵・後京極良経(ごきょうごくよしつね)書と伝える佐竹家旧蔵の『三十六歌仙絵巻』（鎌倉時代）がもっとも有名。もと2巻からなり、柿本人麻呂(かきのもとのひとまろ)以下36人の歌仙を似絵の形式で描いたものであるが、現在は1像ずつ切断されて諸家に分蔵されている。また上畳(あげだたみ)本とよばれるものは、各歌仙が上畳の上に座す姿で描かれ、やはり巻物であったのが分断されて伝わり、ほかに『釈教三十六歌仙絵巻』の断簡も伝存している。近世には形式も多岐にわたり、ことに神社に奉納する扁額に歌仙絵が盛んに用いられ、岩佐勝以(いわさかつもち)（又兵衛）筆の『三十六歌仙絵額』（川越市・喜多院(きたいん)）などが残る。このほか狩野探幽(かのうたんゆう)筆『新三十六歌仙画帖』や尾形光琳(こうりん)筆『三十六歌仙図屏風(びょうぶ)』なども有名である。

［村重　寧］

『森暢編『新修日本絵巻物全集19　三十六歌仙絵』（1979・角川書店）』

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