The Katchen Collection of Netsuke – Part II

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Lot 216
  • 216

KAPPA AND NAMAZU BY ITTOKUSAI

Estimate
4,500 - 5,000 GBP
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Description

  • KAPPA AND NAMAZU BY ITTOKUSAI
  • Signed Ittokusai
  • Wood, the eyes inlaid
  • 7.6cm., 3in.
The mythical creature is humourously rendered, trying to clamber on to the back of a swimming catfish.

Literature

A very similar example by the same artist is illustrated in The Meinertzhagen Card Index, p.253

Catalogue Note

This is a parody of the legend of Kadori Miojin and the Namazu, a common subject in Netsuke.  The former is often shown with the large fish and holding it down with a slippery gourd, which according to legend, prevents earthquakes.  In the late Edo and early Meiji periods, depiction of the fish proliferated and quickly became a metaphor for the financial gain available to commoners who could command a lot of money in rebuilding the homes of the wealthy following the devastation of earthquakes.