Title
- Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), nature pattern (shizen monyō 自然文様): floating chrysanthemums (kikusui 菊水)
Collection
Period | Style | School
Material | Technique
Measurements
- height: 29.9 cm
- width: 40.5 cm
- pattern - height: 20.3 cm
- pattern - width: 34 cm
Inventory number
- OR 3925-8590
Acquisition
- assumption , 1907
Department
- Asia Collection
Description
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"White ground" (jishiro 地白). Water: recognizable by ryūsui 流水 ("running water") pattern.
The chrysanthemum (kiku 菊) symbolizes longevity, which dates back to a Chinese legend. The Yellow River once originated in a chrysanthemum meadow, and a villager who drank from the spring achieved a long life. In Japan, the motif first appears in the Kokin-wakashū 古今和歌集 (early 10th century), while the Man’yōshū 万葉集 from the 8th century lists 157 plant species but does not contain a single poem about chrysanthemums. It is therefore assumed that the flower was first introduced to Japan from China at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century.
Like “nagare/nahashi..." a motif of “objects/plants floating on the water", kikusui 菊水 (floating chrysanthemums) is a pattern that reminds us of the passage of time.
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stencil (katagami 型紙), Plant pattern (shokubutsu monyō 植物文様), nature pattern (shizen monyō 自然文様): floating chrysanthemums (kikusui 菊水), Anonym, MAK Inv.nr. OR 3925-8590
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https://sammlung.mak.at/en/collect/plant-pattern-shokubutsu-monyo-植物文様-nature-pattern-shizen-monyo-自然文様-floating-chrysanthemums-kikusui-菊水_319873
Last update
- 29.11.2025
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