Beside the stylised flowering plant, the well cradle (izutsu) design alludes to a well-known Noh drama by Zeami Motokiyo (circa 1363-1443). The play loosely follows an entry from the Tale of Ise (Ise monogatari), where a young lady appears at the site of a well cradle. When the lady and her former lover were children, they used the well to measure their heights as they grew taller. Brushing aside the flowering autumn grasses growing over the depth of the well, she comes to see the face of her lover in the water’s reflection.

Here the well cradle and autumnal foliage is only hinted towards with the highly cropped compositional frame. The attached netsuke of hares amongst tall grasses further suggests the seasonal timeframe of which the play is set.