Soup Bowl for Suimono with Udo and Chopsticks on Wooden Tray, with Poem by Chirimendō from Kōfu c. 1810

Editor: So, here we have Kubo Shunman’s "Soup Bowl for Suimono with Udo and Chopsticks on Wooden Tray, with Poem by Chirimendō from Kōfu." It’s this delicate little drawing... I’m struck by how intimate it feels, like a quiet moment captured. What do you see in it? Curator: It's funny you say intimate, because I agree. Shunman pulls us in, doesn’t he? It's a simple composition, but it's rich with suggestion. The poem dances above the bowl, almost like steam rising. And it makes you wonder, doesn't it, what story this meal is telling? A story of the seasons, maybe, a quiet meditation on taste and beauty? Editor: I hadn't thought about it like that, about the meal telling a story. It is so suggestive, all those implied textures, tastes… Curator: Yes! Art, like a good soup, nourishes in unexpected ways. Editor: Right. It makes me want to go home and draw my own dinner. Curator: And that, my friend, is the highest compliment we can pay to a work of art!