Three Vinegar Tasters, Three Great Beauties (Yang Guifei) Maki-e Natsume (Tea Caddy)

A maki-e depiction of Yang Guifei, Ono no Komachi, and an oiran, each pulling a sour face after tasting peach-blossom vinegar from a jar. Originally a Chinese fable most often depicted with figures representing Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, it is a philosophical motif conveying that, whatever one's beliefs or religion, something sour tastes sour all the same.