A calligrapher active in the late 18th century, Mitsui Shinna was born into a samurai family in what is now Nagano Prefecture 長野. He lived in the Fukagawa district 深川 of Edo 江戸 (present-day Tokyo), where he studied under the renowned calligrapher and seal carver Hosoi Kōtaku 細井広沢 (1658–1736). Shinna’s work became widely popular thanks to his commissions for Buddhist temples and various businesses in Edo. In addition to his achievements as a calligrapher, he was also highly regarded as a martial artist, particularly for his skill in mounted archery.

In this diptych, Shinna inscribes two lines from the poem Ode for Magistrate Jian (or Xun)’s Birthday 簡（一作荀）令生日, written by Luo Yin 罗隐 (c. 833–910), a literatus of the Tang dynasty 唐. The verses are rich in auspicious imagery associated with longevity, such as the turtle and the crane—characters that Shinna enlarges at the top of each panel with dynamic brushwork in a bold and elegant cursive script.