太宰府安楽寺 北野天神縁起絵巻 断簡 (Dazaifu Anrakuji, Kitano Tenjin engi emaki dankan)|Courtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine

Created in Japan around 1300, this handscroll fragment belongs to the larger Kitano Tenjin engi emaki (Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine). The work was executed by an anonymous artist using ink on paper. While the specific original commissioner is not identified in the available records, the piece depicts courtiers visiting the mortuary temple of Sugawara no Michizane at Dazaifu Anrakuji.

The scroll eventually entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently housed. The dating to the year 1300 places its production in the early fourteenth century, reflecting the historical narrative style of that period.

The fragmentary handscroll, dated to 1300 and attributed to an anonymous painter, belongs to the Kitano Tenjin engi emaki series and is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Scholarship identifies it as a rare example of early Kamakura‑period narrative painting that visualizes the courtly visit to the mortuary shrine of Sugawara no Michizane, situating the work within the broader tradition of shrine‑dedicated picture scrolls in Heian and Kamakura Japan. Its depiction of a solitary figure reading has been cited in studies of narrative composition and devotional imagery, influencing interpretations of how textual legends were rendered visually in medieval Japanese art.

The piece is frequently referenced in catalogues of Japanese emaki and in articles on the evolution of religious illustration.

This ink-on-paper handscroll fragment, titled Courtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, originates from a larger narrative work illustrating the life of Sugawara no Michizane. The scene depicts robed figures approaching a temple gate, engaged in various activities such as bowing, reading, or holding scrolls. It offers a glimpse into the visual storytelling tradition of Japanese illustrated legends, capturing a moment of reverence.