FABLES
IN
IVORY
Plate 1 (see overleaf). Fox in Woman's Guise. Ivory. Unsigned. 17th century. Collection of the author.
This extremely stylized netsuke portraying a fox in the guise of a woman illustrates a basic principle of the seventeenth-century netsuke artists: that their subjects must emerge spontaneously from the medium and in accordance with the inherent properties of the material used. At the same time, in picturing the traditionally supernatural fox in one of his deceitful roles, the netsuke exemplifies the manner in which the creators of these miniature sculptures drew their themes from Japanese legendry.
European Representatives
For the Continent:
Oswald & John H. Boxer, Zurich
For the British Isles:
Mark Paterson & Co. Ltd., London
Published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company
of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
with editorial offices at
Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
© 1961 by Charles E. Tuttle Co.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 61-6220
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1321-3 (ebook)
First edition, 1961
[email protected] www.tuttlepublishing.com
Book design and typography: F. Sakade & M. Weatherby
Layout of plates and title page: M. Kuwata
printed in japan
To
my sons
JEAN-DENIS and PIERRE LABBÉ
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
(Asterisks indicate plates in color.)
Netsuke and Japanese Legends
The Diving Girl and the Jewel
Ryu, the Dragon
*Plate 4. Dragon
Hebi, the Snake
Plate 5. Snake
The Legend of Dojo-ji
Plate 6. Kijohime and the Bell of Dojo-ji
Baku, the Dream-eater
Plate 7. Baku Mounted by a Sage
Kirin, the Unicorn
Plate 8. Kirin
Uma, the Horse
* Plate 9. Horse (ivory)
Plate 10. Horse (boxwood)
The King of Hell and His Demons
Plate 11. Emma-o
Plate 12. Oni
Daikoku, God of Wealth
Plate 13. Daikoku Plate
14. Detail of Plate 13
Kitsune, the Fox
*Plate 1 (frontispiece). Fox in Woman's Guise (17th cent.)
Plate 15. Fox in Woman's Guise (18th cent.)
oshidori, the Mandarin Duck
*Plate 16. Mandarin Duck
Fukurokuju, God of Longevity
Plate 17. Fukurokuju (seated)
Plate 18. Fukurokuju (standing)
Jiraiya and the great Spirit of the Toad
Plate 19. Jiraiya and the Toad
Usagi, the Hare
Plate 20. Hare
Tengu, the Tree Imp
Plate 21. Tengu
Suzume, the Sparrow
Plate 22. Sparrow
Saru, the Monkey
Plate 23. Monkey
Plate 24. Monkeys
The Masks of the Noh Drama:
* Plate 25. Fudo-myo-o
Plate 26. Four Noh Masks
Plate 27. Shiofuki
Uzume, the Dancing Goddess:
Plate 28. Uzume
The Fabulous Dutchmen
Plate 29. Dutchmen with Fowls
Kintoki, the Japanese Hercules
Plate 30. Kintaro and the Yama-uba
Plate 31. Kintaro Mounted on a Bear
Neko, the Cat
Plate 32. The Cat as O-toyo
Nezumi, the Rat
Plate 33. Rat
Inoshishi, the Wild Boar
Plate 34. Wild Boar and Monkey
Shoki, the Demon-killer
Plate 35. Shoki and a Demon
Shojo, the Drunkard
*Plate 36. Shojo
The Demon of Rashomon
Plate 37. The Demon of Rashomon
Kan-u, the Loyal General
Plate 38. Kan-u
Ningyo, the Mermaid
Plate 39. Mermaid
Tora, the Tiger
Plate 40. Tiger and Bamboo
Kappa, the Water Goblin
Plate 41. Two