Portraits of Court Nobles

Fifty-seven court nobles of various rank, beginning with Fujiwara Tadamichi (1097-1164) and extending to regents and ministers appointed up to 1252, are depicted in two rows. Thin and intricate lines, drawn in layers, show great detail to the facial features, displaying a traditional portrait-painting style. However, the unusual design of turnips and radishes painted on the formal court attire suggests that this scroll may have been intended as a preliminary sketch for an official portraiture. The scroll is said to have painted by Fujiwara Nobuzane. Considering the fine lined traditional portrait-painting style, the artist may very well have belonged to the portrait-painting school of Takanobu and Nobuzane.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.