Night Heron

This artwork shows a heron with lotuses, a motif called lián lù (known as renro in Japanese) that originated in China during the Yuan Dynasty. In Japan, lotuses are associated with Buddhism, whereas in China, they are primarily associated with good luck. The Chinese word lián lù, referring to the heron and lotus motif, is itself considered auspicious. While lián lù can be written using the Chinese characters for “heron” and “lotus,” it may also be written using Chinese characters understood to mean “lucky path.” It therefore became custom to share with students images of herons with lotuses as tokens of good luck. When the motif made its way to Japan, it may or may not have retained this meaning.