Abstract
To take a first step into the study of the "Ashide-e", we should consider the word "Ashide (あしで)". As found in the "Ashide-utagire" (attributed to FUJIWARA, Kinto) "Ashide" is a decorative style of calligraphy. But in the 10th century, a style of combining "Ashide" with pictures of scenes of the water's edge was developed. And in the 11th century this combination became to be called "Ashide". On the other hand, in the "Ashide-e", characters of tankas are as elements of the picture, inlaid in other elements, typically stones and trees of the scene depicted. Of course we cannot easily distinguish the use of characters as ornaments of the picture from that as elements, -each of them has a close connection with the scene depicted-, but from this point whether characters are used as elements of the picture or not, we can distinguish the "Ashide-e" from the "Ashide".
