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Calabash Flowers and Beetle

early 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 227
The calabash, or bottle gourd, is a climbing vine cultivated for its fruit. The plant’s fragrant white flowers bloom only at night, earning it the Japanese name yūgao (moonflower). Its blossoms are closely associated with a scene from chapter four of The Tale of Genji, where their brief appearance at dusk becomes a metaphor for fleeting romantic encounters and the transience of life. This painting, which also features a bright green insect—likely a figeater beetle—is by Maruyama Ōshin, the third-generation head of the school founded by his grandfather, Maruyama Ōkyo. Ōshin worked in Kyoto, producing figure paintings, landscapes, and bird-and-flower subjects. Renowned for his versatility, he also designed textiles for the Gion Festival, though later critics observed his increasing reliance on established workshop models.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 円山応震筆　夕顔に虫図
  • Title: Calabash Flowers and Beetle
  • Artist: Maruyama Ōshin (Japanese, 1790–1838)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: early 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 39 1/4 × 14 5/16 in. (99.7 × 36.3 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 77 3/8 × 19 13/16 in. (196.5 × 50.4 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 77 3/8 × 22 3/16 in. (196.5 × 56.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.200
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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