Engi is a narrative that chronicles the founding of a Buddhist or Shinto establishment which, in the case of the Shigisan engi, is Chōgosonshi-ji, where Myōren used to live. The tales are painted in a style called otoko-e, or "men's pictures", a style characterized by active movement, outdoor scenes and a certain feeling of lacking restraint. otoko-e is part of a larger style of Japanese painting called yamato-e. The work is also a prime example of Heian scroll painting, as well as of yamato-e, since most of the early yamato-e and scroll paintings are nowadays lost.[1]