Melons

Images of fruits and vegetables were often displayed in Zen temples as symbolic offerings to Buddhist icons. Although similar images were produced earlier in Song dynasty China, ink paintings of isolated fruits or vegetables became popular in Japan during the late Muromachi period, when they were associated with the Chinese Chan (Zen) artist Muqi (ca. 1210–after 1269). A painting of this subject and size could have been displayed at tea gatherings during the summer season.

Several generations of artists bore the name Dōan, although the seal “Yamada-shi Dōan” may have belonged to a lord of the late 15th–16th century, when much of the country was involved in civil war. Although a member of the military elite, he could have taken religious orders and entered cultivated Zen circles, learning techniques of ink painting from artist-monks to create this depiction of melons with a minimalist approach and contrasting ink tones.