Toshima Tomiyo Who Stayed with Her Leper Husband, Tomozō 1875

This color woodblock print was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi in Japan, and it depicts Toshima Tomiyo caring for her husband Tomozō, who suffers from leprosy. Note the morning glories winding around the window frame behind the couple. In Japanese art, the morning glory, or asagao, is a poignant symbol, often linked to fleeting beauty, fragility, and the transient nature of life. Its daily cycle of blooming and withering mirrors the ephemeral quality of human existence. Observe how the plant, with its delicate, heart-shaped leaves, frames the scene, adding a layer of melancholy to the narrative. It's a powerful image of life's impermanence set against the backdrop of enduring love. Think back to Botticelli's Venus. Like that goddess emerging from the sea, these symbols persist, evolve, and reappear. The morning glory, like Venus's birth, speaks to us across centuries, carrying with it a whisper of human experience.