Inro with the mother of Mencius teaching her son

母に諭される鄒孟軻堆朱印籠          

Mencius (approx. 371–289 BCE) was an influential Chinese Confucian scholar whose mother was a weaver. This scene depicts an episode in which Mencius told his mother that his day at school was mediocre. His mother suddenly took out a knife and cut through the yarn on her loom to make the point that if he stops his study halfway, he will accomplish nothing. Her admonition had its effect, and Mencius devoted himself to a life of learning.