Scroll 3 from Poetry contest of zodiac animals (Jūnirui uta awase)

Scroll 3 from 'Poetry contest of zodiac animals' (Jūnirui uta awase) the text accompanied by illustrations painted in ink, colours and gold on paper; made in Japan in the mid-17th century. One of a set of three handscrolls describing a poetry contest held among the twelve zodiac animals and the subsequent battle with the non-zodiac animals who were offended at their exclusion. Conserved courtesy of the Art Research Foundation under the Joint Council for the Conservation and Restoration of Ancient Japanese Art Works in Foreign Collections at Handa Kyūseidō, Tokyo, May 1994 – April 1995.