Description
These eggplants represent good fortune, as the Japanese word for “eggplant” ([nasu]) sounds identical to the word “fulfill.” They were painted by Kanō Hideyori, who belonged to an influential group of painters known as the Kanō school. He depicted the eggplants using the “boneless” technique, which omits outlines and relies solely on gradations.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
March 23, 2026