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

According to the description written at the top by Keijo Shurin, a Zen priest of the Rinzan School, the horse is a copy of one depicted in a portrait of Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun in the Ashikaga shogunate. The client was probably Ashikaga Yoshizumi (r. 1494-1508), shogun at the time the scroll was produced. The work was presented to Shuzan Eisu, chief priest of the temple Renki-ken. The artist responsible is only described as “an artisan,” name unknown, but the smooth brush strokes and meticulous technique in depicting the horse’s mane suggests that it was most likely painted by a leading artist of the time.