noun
picture formed from letters; letter picture
A picture or design created by arranging written characters, often as a form of visual wordplay.
文字絵で猫の顔を表現した作品が展示されている。
A work expressing a cat's face through a letter picture is on display.
noun
reed-and-water painting using characters (Heian period)
A Heian-period art form where characters are arranged to depict reeds, water, rocks, grass, or birds. Related to 葦手 (あしで).
See also: 葦手 (あしで)
平安時代の文字絵は、文字を絵画的に配置して風景を表した。
Heian-period moji-e depicted landscapes by arranging characters pictorially.
Compound of 文字 (moji, 'character') and 絵 (e, 'picture'). The exact historical derivation of the Heian-period art sense is uncertain, but it is associated with the 葦手 tradition.