Morning Glories | Kikuchi Hōbun 菊池芳文 | 1862–1918

Kikuchi Hōbun was adopted into the famous Kikuchi family of painters, having shown exceptional talent from an early age. He had renowned teachers and went on to become a professor at the art school in Kyoto. He exhibited several times at the prestigious art exhibitions (bunten) and was highly regarded as a juror. Despite his generation, Hōbun was not a ‘modern’ painter of his time; he was thoroughly rooted in the classical tradition of the Shijō school. He was, and still is, highly regarded for his virtuosity in this style.

Morning glories have been a classic floral motif in Japan since ancient times. They bear the charming name asagao, ‘morning face’, as they open their blossoms with the first rays of the sun. They often close again by midday, which is why they became a symbol of ‘transience’ (mujō) in poetry. Dark blue morning glories have been known in Japan since the 8th century. At that time, they were still small and were not bred until the 17th century. The 19th century saw a veritable ‘morning glory boom’ following the publication in 1854 of the illustrated volume 朝顔三十六花撰 „Asagao sanjūrokkasen“ (A Selection of 36 Morning Glories). The book distinguished between five different shades of blue - ranging from light blue to Prussian blue.

The classical composition of this morning glory arrangement is placed in the lower right-hand corner in the shape of a triangle (appearing slightly raised). It consists of two groups of three flowers each. The painter was aware that the vivid blue might pose a problem for a bright, light summer scene.  If one looks closely at the flowers, one immediately sees that he renders the deep dark blue of the flowers in only a few parts – in most places, this colour is merely subtly hinted at.

In addition to this masterful composition, an effective balance has been achieved through the relatively dark, clearly defined leaves (whose colour has probably been rendered here as brownish-grey rather than green for reasons of subtlety).

Only on closer inspection does one spot a leaf-grasshopper (kirigigirisu); like the bindweed in the poem, it is a kigo – that is, a seasonal symbol for August, which in classical Japan was already regarded as ‘early autumn’.