ashide; reed-hand painting
Historical Heian-period painting technique where characters of a poem are disguised as reeds, rocks, birds, and other waterside elements.
Ashide is one of the decorative painting techniques of the Heian period.
On this folding screen, a landscape is depicted with the characters of a waka poem rendered in the ashide style.
ashide-style calligraphy
A handwriting style that mimics the disguised-character aesthetic of ashide paintings, often used in decorative writing.
The ashide calligraphy style is characterized by characters that appear to be part of a landscape.
Compound of 葦 (ashi, 'reed') and 手 (te, 'hand; style'), referring to the technique of writing characters in the shape of reeds and other waterside elements. The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it is associated with Heian-period decorative arts.