The artist reportedly scribed this piece using ink from Kobaien with a sheep’s wool brush on paper that is over 50 years old.

The first two characters read “Hyakka'' or “Hundred flowers,” and the names of the different flowers are laid out around them. The last two characters read “Ryoran,” or “profusely,” referring to the way flowers abundantly bloom in Nara. There’s the camellia of Todai-Ji, the plums of Nara Park, and the peach flowers of Yamanobe-no-Michi. The artist recounted to us that when they were creating this piece, there was a survey about the place people wanted to visit most in Yamatoji, and the top honors went to Murōji Temple, where beautiful rhododendrons bloom. An innumerable amount of flowers continue to grow in Nara to this day.

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