Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms

Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin Japanese

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This handscroll by the Kyoto calligrapher Kojima Sōshin begins with passages from letter templates ushering in the Lantern Festival, which marked the end of the New Year’s celebrations on the fifteenth day of the first month. The scroll concludes with a Chinese poem about plum blossoms. Sōshin’s blending of bold and thin characters, on lavishly decorated paper, creates a sense of festivity.

Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan

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Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan
Two Sample Letters on the Chinese Lantern Festival and a Poem about Plum Blossoms, Calligraphy by Kojima Sōshin (Japanese, 1580–ca. 1656), Handscroll: ink on decorated paper, Japan

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