Autumn Poem by Lady Kunaiky mid-1620s Calligraphy by Hon'ami Ketsu Hon’ami Ketsu was the most prominent calligrapher of his generation, and renowned for his renditions of classical Japanese waka (court poems in 31 syllables) in a mixture of dynamically rendered kanji (Chinese characters and kana (Japanese phonetic characters). He employed an age-old technique of “scattered writing” (chirashigaki) whereby the lengths of columns were adjusted to create an attractive composition. It was comparatively rare for Ketsu to brush poem scrolls on silk, though this work bears comparison to a section of silk handscroll with poems in the collection of the Asia Society New York. That handscroll also has painted gold bamboo decoration, and is also attributed to Tawaraya Statsu, head of a studio of artists who created fan paintings, screens, and paper decoration inspired by classical painting themes. )The poem transcribed here is one by Lady Kunaiky (died ca. 1204), daughter of an emperor, who w