Anonymous Muromachi period (1333-1573), 14th/15th century Nezumi soshi (Tale of a Mouse); fragment of a makimono mounted as a kakejiku, ink and slight colour on paper in silk mounts, depicting a procession of biwa hoshi (lute-playing priests), personified as mice, some blind and being led by other mice, unsigned; with a plain wood storage box. Overall: 103.6cm x 47.7cm (40¾in x 18¾in); image: 24.7cm x 30cm (9¾in x 11 13/16in). (2). 注脚 Published: Tokyo National Museum: Tokubetsuten: Emaki (Special Exhibition: Illustrated Hand Scrolls), exhibition catalogue, Tokyo National Museum, 1974, cat.no.118. Exhibited: Tokyo National Museum, Tokubetsuten: Emaki (Special Exhibition: Illustrated Hand Scrolls), 10 October-24 November, 1974. This scroll forms part of the 'Story of a Mouse', a familiar tale in Japanese medieval literature. A mouse who wished for his offspring to be born as humans transformed himself in human guise to marry a young woman, who on their wedding night discovers his true identity and immediately leaves him, forcing the mouse to seek solace in the priesthood.