Bowl, scissors, and morning glories c. 1820

This color woodblock print by Yashima Gakutei, titled "Bowl, scissors, and morning glories" presents us with symbols rich in cultural resonance. The morning glory, or asagao in Japanese, embodies fleeting beauty, a poignant metaphor for life's transience. Consider the bowl, an emblem of containment and nourishment. The scissors, a tool for both creation and severance, introduce a tension between growth and cutting back. These motifs echo across centuries. The bowl as a vessel of life appears in ancient Minoan frescoes, symbolizing abundance. The scissors, instruments of the Fates in classical mythology, remind us of destiny and mortality. Such pairings invite us to delve into the collective unconscious. The ephemerality of the morning glory, juxtaposed with the functional permanence of the scissors, stirs our awareness of life's impermanence. Like a memento mori, this artwork reminds us of the cyclical nature of existence.