Dish with children playing in a garden
Not on view
Works featuring young boys at play were first introduced to Japan from China beginning in the Song dynasty and soon became ubiquitous in decorative arts and paintings. These highly auspicious images celebrate fecundity and an abundance of male heirs. They tend to show boys engaged in sports and games while also playfully performing adult roles, an indication of their futures as upstanding gentlemen.
On view for rotations 1 and 2
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