PMJS Publication Announcement: July 2026
Abigail MacBain
Dear colleagues,
Sorry for getting this out a bit late! Below please find our monthly bulletin compiling information on publications by and recommendations from PMJS members. All details below were submitted through the PMJS Publication Announcements online form.
Publication type: Article
Title: Quantitative Orthographic Analysis of the Ogura Shikishi
Author: Paul S. Atkins and Michael R. Zeng
Affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle
Citation: Paul S. Atkins and Michael R. Zeng (2026), ‘Quantitative Orthographic Analysis of the Ogura Shikishi’, manuscript cultures, 26(1): 1–60.
Summary: The Ogura shikishi are poem cards written in a calligraphic style closely associated with Fujiwara no Teika and long claimed to be his autograph selection for the Hyakunin isshu. To assess this attribution, we analyze orthographic preferences in hiragana formation by tracking jibo (matrix characters) underlying premodern kana variants, a feature known to reflect individual scribal habit. Using compositional data analysis and a newly proposed poem-level “probability rating” suited to short inscriptions, we compare jibo usage in each shikishi against a reference corpus of manuscripts attributed to Teika with high confidence. The results indicate that the likelihood Teika brushed any recto inscription is low to extremely low, suggesting the set was produced by other hands. In contrast, verso fragments on two cards are statistically consistent with Teika, implying reuse of authentic paper to bolster credibility.
Japanese Summary: 小倉色紙は、藤原定家（1162–1241）の筆と伝えられる約五十点の和歌色紙であるが、その真偽については長く議論されてきた。本研究は、ひらがなの基となる字母（jibo）の使用傾向に注目し、書写者ごとの習癖を反映するという前提のもとで、統計的手法による書写者判定を試みる。具体的には、構成データ分析および新たに提案された確率評価指標（PR）を用い、51点の色紙における字母使用を、定家真筆と高い信頼度で認められる諸写本と比較した。
その結果、大多数の色紙は定家の使用傾向と統計的に一致しないことが明らかとなった。さらに、わずかに「一致」と判定された例は、後にいずれも色紙の裏面（紙背）の書写に由来することが確認される。したがって、表面（本紙）に書かれた和歌は一貫して定家の字母傾向と合致せず、その筆跡である可能性は極めて低いと判断される。
本研究は、小倉色紙の本紙が他筆によるものであり、紙背の真筆断簡を再利用することで権威付けが図られた可能性を示すとともに、字母分析が写本鑑定に有効であることを示している。
Release Date: June 2, 2026
Website:https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/hup4/mc
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15460/mc
Contact: Paul Atkins, pat...@uw.edu
Note: Companion dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18793911
Publication type: Book
Title: Ukyô no Daibu, Mémoires poétiques d'une dame d'honneur de l'impératrice Kenreimon-in
Author: Michel Vieillard-Baron
Affiliation: École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL, Directeur d'études-Philologie japonaise
Language of publication: French
Summary: This volume offers an annotated translation and study of the poetic memoirs (Kenreimon-in Ukyō no Daibu Shū) of the court lady Ukyō no Daibu, providing invaluable insights into the literary culture, emotional landscape, and historical transitions of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods during her service to Empress Kenreimon-in.
Release Date: 2026
To recommend a title for next month’s announcement, please fill out the online form. Submissions can be submitted by authors themselves or by PMJS members who are eager to share other scholars’ recent publications.
Thank you to everyone who filled in the survey about the publications form and announcement – I will go through the responses carefully and see which can be incorporated for future announcements!
For any questions or comments on the submission format, please contact Abigail MacBain (abigail...@ed.ac.uk). Note: Please do not email requesting a publication to be posted; only those submitted through the above form will be listed.