Kakemono White Morning Glories on Bamboo Poles

Early in the morning, before the heat sets in, the morning glories open. This brief moment hangs over the entire picture: two white blossoms glow against the gray, veiled silk ground, their trumpets almost transparent, with only a fine yellow star at the center. A third blossom is still furled as a slender bud.

The tendrils wind up thin bamboo poles, which are tied together with small knots and run diagonally through the picture. The heart-shaped leaves are laid in dark blue-green and delicately shaded toward the edges; some are already turning olive or bear the spots of high summer. It is precisely this close observation that gives the quiet motif its tension. The morning glory, asagao, is among the most popular summer flowers in Japan and is hung in the months of June through August.

Signature and seal name Sōzan, meaning Okumura Sōzan of Toyama, who is said to have studied under Kimura Buzan, a painter from the circle around Okakura Tenshin. This hand-painted one-of-a-kind piece on silk dates from the Shōwa period, measures 61 × 195 cm and is mounted in green brocade with small gold motifs; the jikusaki are made of bone. No wooden box is included.