National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This album was compiled around the early eighteenth century by the Mōri clan, who oversaw the Chōfu domain (present-day Yamaguchi) during the Edo period (17th–19th century), and consists of 78 pages of written works. These include:
- 20 documents from the Kamakura period (12th–14th century), most of which were issued by the Kamakura shogunate;
- 38 documents issued by the feudal Ōuchi clan, who were based in Chōfu during the Nanboku-chō (14th century) to Muromachi period (14th–16th century);
- 12 calligraphic works by Zen Buddhist monks from the Muromachi to Edo period;
- 1 document issued by the Muromachi shogunate;
- 1 renga poem written on kaishi paper;
- 2 works attributed to Southern Song Chinese calligrapher Zhang Jizhi;
- 1 document written by Joseon tongsinsa envoys to Japan;
- 1 scroll segment of a renga poem;
- 1 scroll segment of calligraphy; and
- 1 poem written on kaishi paper.
Some of the works included are of great historical importance, such as the calligraphy written by Zen monks, works from a copy of an anthology of 3,000 poems written for a competition once owned by Honnōji Temple, and the tongshinsa document.

This album stands out from its peers on two fronts: in addition to its contents being historically significant, it is also extensive as a collection. Most of its works come from temples and shrines in the Chōfu domain, as well as the wider Nagato and Suō Provinces; a portion of these are also connected to the Mōri clan, or the Masuda clan of the neighboring Ishimi Province, a family in the service of the Mōri clan.

Most of the works collected centered on matters in the Chūgoku region, where the Chōfu domain was located, as well as the neighboring Kyushu and Shikoku regions. Documents from the Kamakura shogunate, in particular, revolved around trade with Song China, and the Mongol invasions. One of the more famous examples is an official document issued by the regent to the Kamakura shogun, and his assistant, on the 12th day of the 7th month of Kenchō 4 (1252), in which the name of a Song Chinese merchant, Xie Guoming, appears in relation to the Head Priest Orojima of the Munakata Shrines in northern Kyushu. Another similarly issued document from the 3rd day of the 11th month of Bun’ei 11 (1274) orders vassals of the Kamakura shogunate who have territories in Ishimi to make their way there and defend the land during the first Mongol invasion attempt. This shows us how Hōjō Tokimune, who was the regent to the Kamakura shogunate at the time, had first responded to the news of imminent danger reported by Dazaifu-based general Shōni Sukeyori regarding the arrival of the Mongol troops on Iki and Tsushima.

The Ōuchi clan documents, on the other hand, provide an exhaustive source of documents issued by successive heads of the clan over two centuries, from Hiroyo and Yoshihiro of the Nanboku-chō period; to Moriharu, Mochiyo, and Norihiro of the early Muromachi period; Masahiro, Yoshioki, and Yoshitaka of the late Muromachi period (also known as the Sengoku, or warring states, period); and finally, Yoshinaga, the last lord of the Ōuchi clan. Many of them are letters to shrines and temples acknowledging their jurisdiction and ownership of the land or letters of gratitude, all of which show us how the clan interacted with and oversaw the shrines and temples under their jurisdiction. As the Ōuchi clan died out with Yoshinaga in 1557, these 38 original documents spanning the careers of a significant number of their successive heads are invaluable as historical sources.