A VERY RARE IVORY NETSUKE OF EMMA-O AND ONI BY CHOUNSAI HIDECHIKA
Ivory netsukeJapan, Edo19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Published: ‘Netsuke & Inro Artists, and how to Read Their Signatures’, George Lazarnick, page 544An interesting and rather unusual netsuke in the style of the Tomochika school in Edo/Tokyo. Emma-o, the king of the underworld, recognizable from the character “O” 王 for “king” on his cap, is seated in front of a box with books on it and reading. A horned oni is kneeling beside him and playing the samisen (a three stringed lute). The musical instrument as well as the facial features of both figures are executed in a most precise and lively manner, especially considering the small size of this piece. This attention to detail is most evident in the writings, on the sides, underside and on the book pages.The box reads Hako Cho with large characters on the front side meaning “box for account books”, referring to the register of sins he is reading from. One book, lying slanted on the side, reads Takemoto Chodayu, who was a noted singer/story teller in the musical style of Gidayu-bushi, which contains heavy use of Samisen music. In an eerie twist of fate Emma-o is reading the sins of this historical figure and condemning him, while an oni is playing the samisen. The signature is found on the underside of the box and reads CHOUNSAI HIDECHIKA; the last two characters are separate and in seal script. Small himotoshi on the underside of Emma-o.WIDTH 4.15 CMCondition: Very good conditionProvenance: Austrian private collectionNote: This netsuke as well as the signatures and one of the inscriptions are pictured in Lazarnick’s book on page 544 under “Jugyoku”, which is an error, as this name is written very differently, and the piece is also in a very different style as that of Jugyoku, who however also used the artist name “Chounsai”.