Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Manjū netsuke depicting a kappa sitting on a cucumber

  • Description

    The kappa is a mischievous creature, whose favourite food is the cucumber. A depression on top of its head carries its life-giving fluid.

  • Details

    Associated place
    Asia Japan (place of creation)
    Date
    c. 1840
    Artist/maker
    Mitsuo (active c. 1840)
    Material and technique
    ivory, with carved ukibori decoration, and stained with pigment
    Dimensions
    2 x 4.3 x 3.35 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    formed carved,
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Bequeathed by Dr Monica Barnett, 2001.
    Accession no.
    EA2001.55
  • Further reading

    Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 23 April-22 September 2013, Manjū: Netsuke from the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Joyce Seaman, ed. (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2013), no. 69 on p. 172, illus. p. 173

Glossary (3)

Manjū, kappa, netsuke

  • Manjū

    The manjū is a type of netsuke or toggle which takes its name from a round, sweet, bean paste-filled bun. A greater dynamism can often be achieved on the front and back of the netsuke than with other three-dimensional carving.

  • kappa

    The kappa is a mischievous water goblin in Japanese folklore. It is part-human, part-turtle, with webbed feet, and is the size of a small child. It was thought to drown horses, cattle, and even humans, by dragging them into the water.

  • netsuke

    The netsuke is a form of toggle that was used to secure personal items suspended on cords from the kimono sash. These items included purses, medicine cases or tobacco paraphernalia.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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