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

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Manjū netsuke depicting a kappa sitting on a cucumberfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Manjū netsuke depicting a kappa sitting on a cucumber (back)
  • Manjū netsuke depicting a kappa sitting on a cucumber (detail)
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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

    show all
    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
    organic › animal › tooth › mammal tooth › ivory
    Technique index
    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.
    EA2001.55

  • 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.

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.

 

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