Koto and Plum Tree 

Curator: This print, "Koto and Plum Tree," comes to us from the hand of Keisai Eisen. Editor: Oh, it's making me think of haikus. The bonsai, the koto...it's like a tiny, peaceful world. Curator: Eisen was working in the late Edo period, a time of great social stratification. The arrangement here, the koto and flowering plum, signal cultivated leisure, an aspiration perhaps beyond reach for many. Editor: Yes, but it's also about intimacy, I think. The close quarters, the delicate blossoms... it's a very personal space being presented. The blue and white pot has so much character too. Curator: It’s a space carefully constructed, both literally in the arrangement of the objects and figuratively in the values it projects. Consider who had access to such idealized tranquility. Editor: Right, and seeing that tension is part of the beauty, isn’t it? It makes it feel even more alive. Curator: Precisely. These images, though serene, hold within them the echoes of inequality. Editor: Well, I know that I'll be dreaming of my own little bonsai world tonight!