The Kumano poems (known in Japanese as Kumano kaishi) refer to a group of poems that were composed during a waka (Japanese poetry) party held by the retired emperor Gotoba (1180-1239) and his attendants on a pilgrimage to the sacred mountains of Kumano. According to the inscription on the edge of reverse side of the paper, the retired emperor read this poem during the poetry party at Takijirioji Shrine (in present-day Nishimuro County, Wakayama Prefecture) on the sixth day of the twelfth month of 1200 (Shoji 2). This poem is rare in that the date and place of the gathering are given. The light, rhythmical brushstrokes were gracefully rendered by the retired emperor at age twenty.