This barrel-shaped vase, cylindrical and tapering to rim and foot, is painted with a central frieze of children playing games. In a charming detail, one pair of children brush the name ‘Meizan’ onto a hanging scroll, a playful signature within the scene. Myriad butterflies fill the band above, and blossoming flowers the band below. The tiny scale of the figures is typical of the studio’s work around 1900, the date Bonhams gives the vase.
Geometric and floral bands punctuate the design, and key frets circle the rim and foot. The hidden self-reference recalls the ‘Dai Meizan’ banner on the Khalili festival bowl (S 30). The vase is signed in gilt ‘Yabu Meizan’. Offered at Bonhams, Fine Japanese & Korean Art, New York, on 16 September 2026, lot 1064. It realised US$8,960 including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of US$7,000–US$9,000.