A FINE WOOD NETSUKE OF AN ONI NEMBUTSU BY MASAMITSUBy Masamitsu, wood netsuke with bone, mother of pearl, lacquer and metal inlaysJapan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)An oni with horns on its head, blissfully and earnestly looking up towards the heavenly sky. This oni wants to renounce its demonic ways and become a devout Buddhist. It is carrying a parasol with bone handle as well as a sagemono pouch and has a block for donations in front of it, with a netsuke made from glass attached to it, showing the characters Hogacho, reffering to a Buddhist subscription list. The oni's muscular, naked torso is well-crafted, the horns, fangs and eyes are inlaid, the sagemono pouch which is attached to his obi is made from bone or antler, the himotoshi are outlined in mother of pearl and green-stained and the loincloth shows the signature MASAMITSU on an inlaid red-lacquer tablet on the underside. Possibly this is the Masamitsu who made lacquer netsuke mentioned in MCI as carver no.6 on page 433.HEIGHT 4.3 CMCondition: Excellent conditionProvenance: British private collection