Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

Utagawa Toyohiro

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Known for his creative and subtle depictions of world-weary beauties, Toyohiro here captures a moment in the lives of a couple enjoying a cool evening. Both look relaxed; the husband is about to sing, while his wife, fanning herself, appears to be asking for a sip of wine. Seemingly an exquisite example of pure genre painting, it actually manifests a deeply rooted Japanese tradition in which painting is intimately linked to poetry, in this case a popular verse by Kinoshita Chōshōshi (1569–1649): Under a trellis of evening gourd blossoms, A man in a shirt and a woman in a petticoat, Enjoy the cool of evening.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Enjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd TrellisEnjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd TrellisEnjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd TrellisEnjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd TrellisEnjoying the Evening Cool under a Gourd Trellis

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.