The title of this work refers to the belt of three stars in the center of Orion, a winter constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. It is said that the woman on the left is Sekine’s older sister, the one on the right his lover, and the man in the middle the artist himself. There are many other theories about the picture. Some say, for example, that the white cloth wrapped around Sekine’s head refers to an operation he had had not long before making this work, while others argue that it represents the artist’s fondness for van Gogh, who famously cut off his own ear. Largely self-taught, Sekine’s paintings are awkward and decidedly lacking in dexterity. But in the Taisho Period, the prevailing trend favored the earnest expression of emotion over skill. This notion of art differed considerably from the Meiji Period, an era in which many Japanese artists diligently studied European painting.