Nukina Kaioku was considered one of the three great calligraphers of the 19th century. The son of a samurai in the service of the Tokushima 徳島 domain, he studied painting in Nagasaki and Edo, and also trained in Confucianism. Later, he founded his own school in Kyoto, where he worked as a Confucian scholar and teacher.

In this work, Kaioku showcases two ideograms in a cursive style marked by firm brushstrokes and dense ink, resulting in an elegant, more orthodox calligraphy inspired by the Chinese tradition of the Tang dynasty 唐 (618–907 CE).

Japanese calligraphy maintains a close relationship with Chinese tradition—not only in the use of ink, writing styles, and brush techniques, but also in the texts´ context, which often include classical Chinese poems.