Ban Dainagon Ekotoba

Ban Dainagon Ekotoba (伴大納言絵詞, The Tale of Great Minister Ban^?) is a late 12th century emakimono (handscroll painting) depicting the events of the Ōtemmon Conspiracy, an event of Japan's early Heian period. The painting, attributed to Tokiwa Mitsunaga, is over 20m long and about 31.5 cm tall.

It is widely believed that these handscrolls were ordered by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192, r. 1155-1158) in order to pacify the angry spirit of Tomo no Yoshio after the imperial Ōtenmon burnt down during the large Kyoto fire in 1177. Regardless of whether or not the scroll was made as a result of the fire in 1177, it appears that the intention of the scroll is to mollify Tomo no Yoshio’s angry spirit.

The scroll itself depicts the events of the Ōtenmon conspiracy involving Tomo no Yoshio, which occurred on the tenth day of the third month of 866. Tomo no Yoshio’s regret was emphasized in the scrolls through the written text in an attempt to protect against the vengeful will of Tomo no Yoshio’s spirit.

The full-color painting depicts the events of the 3rd month of 866, in which Ban Dainagon, also known as Tomo no Yoshio, set fire to the Ōtemmon gate of Kyoto. He then blamed one of his political rivals, Minister of the left Minamoto no Makoto for the fire. However, the true culprit was soon discovered, and Tomo no Yoshio was banished to Izu province.

Stylistically, the scroll is interesting because it is done using a combination of the otoko-e and tsukuri-e styles. Calligraphic lines are used to define figures, which characterizes the otoko-e style used in the shigisan-engi scroll. However, thick coats of bright colors are used in some scenes, typical of the tsukuri-e style used in the Genji Monogatari Emaki.

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