In the late Edo period, warrior-class women often wore robes with Japanese or Chinese classical or literary themes. Embedded in the decoration of this robe—a winter landscape—are visual references to the ancient Chinese Confucian legend known as Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety. Among the paragons is Wang Xiang (Japanese: Ōshō), a third-century official who, to fulfill his stepmother's craving for fresh fish in midwinter, caught some fish by lying on the ice until it melted. Wang Xiang is represented here by his clothing: an official's cap and fan lie on the riverbank beneath a pine branch from which a court robe hangs.Another legendary figure, Meng Zong (Japanese: Mōsō), is evoked by the hat, straw cape, and hoe seen on the back of the right sleeve. When Meng Zong's mother expressed a desire for bamboo shoots out of season, he went to the snowy forest with his hoe, whereupon bamboo began to sprout to honor his filial conduct.
