Abé Mark Nornes, in an essay entitled "The Riddle of the Vase: Ozu Yasujirō's "Late Spring" (1949)," observes: "Nothing in all of Ozu's films has sparked such conflicting explanations; everyone seems compelled to weigh in on this scene, invoking it as a key example in their arguments." Nornes speculates that the reason for this is the scene's "emotional power and its unusual construction. The vase is clearly essential to the scene. The director not only shows it twice, but he lets both shots run for what would be an inordinate amount of time by the measure of most filmmakers." To one commentator, the vase represents "stasis," and is thus "an expression of something unified, permanent, transcendent." Another critic describes the vase and other Ozu "still lifes" as "containers for our emotions." Yet another specifically disputes this interpretation, identifying the vase as "a non-narrative element wedged into the action." A fourth scholar sees it as an instance of the filmmaker's deliberate use of "false POV" (point of view), since Noriko is never shown actually looking at the vase the audience sees. A fifth asserts that the vase is "a classic feminine symbol." And yet another suggests several alternative interpretations, including the vase as "a symbol of traditional Japanese culture," and as an indicator of Noriko's "sense that... relationship with her father has been changed."