Kokin Wakashū
Artist Unknown (Heian period), Kokin Wakashū manuscript.
A calligrapy manuscript of the Heian-era anthology of poetry Kokin Wakashū (古今和歌集, 'Collection of New and Old Poetry') written on white decorated paper. The Kokin Wakashū was an important part of a Heian aristocratic woman's education, and Sei Shōnagon recounts numerous times that her fellow ladies-in-waiting passed the time by reciting or copying poems from this anthology.