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 Minamoto no Yorimasa and Ii no Hayata slaying the nue, a mythical creaturefront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Manjū netsuke depicting Minamoto no Yorimasa and Ii no Hayata slaying the nue, a mythical creature (back)
  • Manjū netsuke depicting Minamoto no Yorimasa and Ii no Hayata slaying the nue, a mythical creature (detail)
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Manjū netsuke depicting Minamoto no Yorimasa and Ii no Hayata slaying the nue, a mythical creature

  • Description

    Emperor Konoe was ailing, troubled by a strange feeling accompanied by a dark cloud. The courtiers Minamoto no Yorimasa and Ii no Hayata were sent to investigate and discovered the nue, a creature combining monkey, badger, tiger and snake with the voice of a bird. Between them they killed it and the emperor recovered. This story is also depicted on the two right-hand sheets of the print EA1983.37.

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › Japan › Honshū › Kantō › Tōkyō prefecture › Tōkyō (place of creation)
    Date
    early 19th century
    Artist/maker
    Kikugawa Hakuunsai (active early 19th century)
    Associated people
    Ii no Hayata (active Late Heian Period (AD 901 - 1185)) (subject)
    Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106 - 1180) (subject)
    Material and technique
    ivory, probably lathe-turned, with carved decoration, and stained with red and black pigment
    Dimensions
    3.2 cm (height)
    7.5 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
    2
    Credit line
    Bequeathed by Dr Monica Barnett, 2001.
    Accession no.
    EA2001.114

  • 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. 82 on pp. 202-205, illus. pp. 203 & 204

Glossary (3)

Manjū, netsuke, nue

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • nue

    An imaginary creature with a monkey’s head, badger’s body, paws of a tiger, a snake for a tail and with the voice of a golden mountain thrush (toratsugumi).

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.

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