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

Fearing the sudden developments caused by the movement to overthrow the shogunate in the second intercalary month of 1333 (Genko 3), Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348, r. 1308-18) wrote his younger brother Prince Son'en (1298-1356), asking for the latter's prayers. This missive is noteworthy in that it substantiates an incident in which the New Perpetual Lamp of the Central Konponchu-do Hall at Enryaku-ji Temple was extinguished as recorded in the fifth volume of Taiheiki (Chronicle of Grand Pacification). In the letter, he refers to the extinction of the temple's Perpetual Lamp by a pair of pigeons that flew into it. In spite of the shock and anxiety the emperor expresses, his brushstrokes remain impressively powerful and unwavering. The emperor at this time was thirty-seven.