Book of Kings

Japanese: 《王書》 - おうしょ

...The distinctive feature of paintings of this period is that motifs such as ganoderma lucidum clouds, tupo, dragons, and phoenixes were introduced from China, as well as realistic drawing methods, bird's-eye views, horizontal compositions reminiscent of scrolls, and white-ink brushwork. Representative works include the Morgan Library version of Ibn Bakhtish's The Uses of Animals (c. 1299), the University of Edinburgh version of Rashid al-Din's Jami'-shi (1307) and the Royal Asiatic Society version of London (1314), the Demut version of Firdousi's Shahnameh (Book of Kings), Iran's most famous national heroic epic poem, and the Istanbul University Library version of Kalila and Dimna (c. 1360). Among them, the De Mot edition, also known as the "Large Shahnameh," is a masterpiece of harmonious Persian painting, although it is difficult to say that it is a perfect fusion of Persian and Song and Yuan styles.

From the Shahnameh

…meaning “The Book of Kings”, it is the largest national epic poem in Iran, written in Persian by Firdousi. He began composing it around 980, using Abu Mansur’s “The Book of Kings in Prose” and other sources as his main source of information, and after more than 30 years of devotion to it, he finally completed it in 1010 and dedicated it to Mahmud of Ghaznavid. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "The Book of Kings" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…この時代の絵画の特質は，中国から霊芝雲，土坡，竜，鳳凰などのモティーフをはじめとし，写実的描法，俯瞰的構図，巻子（かんす）本を思わせる横長の構図，白描画的筆法などの画法や技法が伝えられたことである。イブン･バフティシュの《動物の効用》のモーガン図書館本(1299ころ)，文人宰相ラシード･アッディーンの《集史》のエジンバラ大学本(1307)とロンドン王立アジア協会本(1314)，イランで最も人口に膾炙したフィルドゥーシーの民族英雄叙事詩《シャー･ナーメ(王書)》のデモット本(14世紀中期)，《カリーラとディムナ》のイスタンブール大学図書館本(1360ころ)などが代表的な作品である。なかでも，〈大判のシャー･ナーメ〉の別名で呼ばれているデモット本は，ペルシア様式と宋･元の様式が完全に融合しているとは言い難いが，調和のとれたペルシア絵画の傑作といえる。…