Eerlijkheid duurt het langst 1850 - 1870

This print, "Honesty is the Best Policy" by Kobayashi Toshimitsu, depicts a scene laden with moral weight. At its heart, the image portrays the virtue of honesty, symbolized by a transaction between a woman and a young girl. The open palm, a universal gesture of giving and receiving, transcends time. We see echoes of it in countless religious artworks, from the hand of God bestowing life upon Adam to the open hands of saints offering blessings. Yet, here, this gesture is grounded in everyday morality: returning a lost coin. This echoes the ancient concept of 'mana,' where objects possess spiritual power linked to their origins and ownership. To hold something dishonestly is to disrupt the natural order, a disruption that resonates with the collective subconscious. The scene subtly underscores the psychological tension between right and wrong, a tension that continues to engage viewers across generations. It reflects how honesty, like the imagery, is a recurring cycle.