@Fujiwara no Sadaie (1162-1241) had composed five verses on the theme of "bird" upon the order of the retired Emperor Gotoba, and he sought the comments of his father Toshinari (1114-1204) on these verses. Toshinari wrote his comments between the lines of the verses and then returned the page to Sadaie. The retired emperor had determined that the verses must not be about geese and plovers, and it is fascinating to note that Sadaie asks, "since these two verses are important, should I submit them to the retired emperor?" This sheet is the draft version of the Five Verses on Birds which makes up the last section of the Shoji ninen in shodo hyakusyu [First 100 verses from the regency of Shoji 2].
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