(Water gourd and cherry blossoms)

Dried, hollow gourds, fitted with a stopper, were traditionally used as drinking containers. Decorated with a spray of flowering cherry tided with a green-colored string, the gourd depicted here probably contains sake to drink during a flower-viewing party. The poems inscribed on the gourd and in the background also celebrate the coming of spring. The embossed outlines of the petals and buds effectively represent the delicate texture of flowers.