Hyotan (gourds): long used in Japan as containers for sake, water, and flowers; regarded as lucky charms; gourd shapes appear as architectural motifs, cartouches for woodblock prints, and signatures of print artists; multiple gourds on a battle standard (sennari hyotan) is attributed to the samurai warrior Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified Japan in the late 16th century1; and gourds are among those motifs found on sword guards (tsuba) mounted on magnificent Japanese samurai swords (katana). From the zen point of view, the hollow gourd denotes emptiness and seeking truth first through an inward gaze at the self.2 “How do you catch a catfish with a gourd?” is a famous zen koan believed to have been asked by Ashikaga Yoshimichi (1386-1428, Muromachi Period), the fourth Shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. It brought answers from 31 leading Zen monks. Like all elements of koan study by monks hoping to achieve enlightenment principally through a rigorous practice of daily meditation practice, it is meant to break through the logistical strategic mind of the ego by posing a question that has no logical solution. In this manner, the veil of illusion is lifted in order to reveal existence as it truly is–empty of form, oneness without distinctions. A famous hanging scroll painting by the 15th-century artist Josetsu (see below) depicts this wonderful koan.
Below are two magnificent Kanayama school tsuba from my collection, both from the Momoyama Period and featuring Hyotan. See the Tsuba Gallery page
1Symbols of Japan, Thematic Motifs in Art and Design, Baird, Merrily, Rizzoli International Publications, Inc, 1944
2Zen Painting and Calligraphy, 17th-20th Centuries Exhibition, Woodson, Yoko, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, 2001
