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

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

Tales in the Round: Manjū Netsuke and Japanese Woodblock Prints

(from 30th Apr until 22nd Sep 2013)

Discover dramatic episodes from Japanese culture in these exquisitely carved objects and prints.

Detail of a manju netsuke depicting Minamoto Yoshitsune practising martial arts with a tengu demon,
Manjū netsuke depicting Tadanobu defending himself with a gō boardfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Manjū netsuke depicting Tadanobu defending himself with a gō board (back)
  • Manjū netsuke depicting Tadanobu defending himself with a gō board (detail)
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Manjū netsuke depicting Tadanobu defending himself with a gō board

  • Description

    The warrior Satō Tadanobu fighting for his life, after his treacherous ex-lover had revealed his whereabouts to the enemy. She had disabled his swords so he picked up a gō board to try and defend himself. This scene is also depicted in the print EA1971.114.

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › Japan (place of creation)
    Asia › Japan › Honshū › Osaka prefecture › Osaka (possible place of creation)
    Asia › Japan › Honshū › Kantō › Tōkyō prefecture › Tōkyō (possible place of creation)
    Date
    1820 - 1860
    Artist/maker
    Kōsai Moritoshi (active c. 1820 - c. 1860)
    Associated people
    Satō Tadanobu (1160 - 1187) (subject)
    Material and technique
    ivory, probably lathe-turned, with carved decoration, and stained with red and black pigment
    Dimensions
    2.3 cm (height)
    5.7 cm (diameter)
    Material index
    organic › animal › tooth › mammal tooth › ivory
    Technique index
    turned,
    carved,
    formed › carved,
    coloured › stained
    Object type index
    clothing › personal accessory › sagemono › netsuke
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Bequeathed by Dr Monica Barnett, 2001.
    Accession no.
    EA2001.69

  • 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. 90 on p. 224, illus. p. 225

Glossary (3)

Manjū, gō, 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.

  • gō

    Art name

  • 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.

Past Exhibition

see (1)

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.

 

Notice

Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum