The is an or (painted narrative handscroll) made in the second half of the 12th century CE, during the Heian period of Japanese history (794–1185). It is an illuminated manuscript detailing miracles attributed to the monk , who lived on Mount Shigi near Nara in Japan in the latter part of the 9th century. The tales are composed in the genre of , a narrative that chronicles the founding of a Buddhist or Shinto establishment. In the case of the , the establishment is , where used to live. The pictorial style of the work, known as , or "men's pictures", is characterized by active movement, outdoor scenes and a certain feeling of lack of restraint. is part of a broader style of Japanese painting called . The work is a prime example of both Heian period scroll painting and , as most of the early scroll and paintings are now lost. Background arts Originating in Japan in the sixth or seventh century through trade with the Chinese Empire, art spread widely among the aristocracy in the Heian period. An consists of one or more long scrolls of paper narrating a story through texts and paintings. The reader discovers the story by progressively unrolling the scroll with one hand while rewinding it with the other hand, from right to left (according to the then horizontal writing direction of Japanese script), so that only a portion of text or image of about is visible. The narrative assumes a series of scenes, the rhythm, composition and transitions of which are entirely the artist's sensitivity and technique. The themes of the stories were very varied: illustrations of novels, historical chronicles, religious texts, biographies of famous people, humorous or fantastic anecdotes, etc. The work and its historical sources The scrolls of the , three in number, each narrate a miraculous story about the life of , a Buddhist monk who lived at the end of the 9th century in the temple on Mount Shigi () in the province of Yamato, and was dedicated to the deity (Vaiśravaṇa). The term "engi" in the title designates a Japanese literary style that transcribes chronicles and legends on the foundation of Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, as well as, by extension, the miracles associated with them. Along with the biographies of high-ranking monks ( or ), this is the main genre of with a religious subject; the genre