Toun
Takayasan
Correction du catalogue du Musée asiatique de Cologne.
A la suite d’un désaccord et d’une altercation , j’ai abandonné la rédaction du catalogue un mois avant sa parution, après y avoir travaillé bénévolement pendant trois mois. Il s’en ai suivit de nombreuses fautes, voici donc les corrections à y apporter, d’autre part voici aussi la photo des inro du Musée que j’avais choisis et qui furent remplacés par des inro et autres objets de Zeshin appartenant à Mme Klefish. Vous trouverez les descriptions que j’avais rédigées et qui ont été modifiées, vous constaterez que je ne suis pas encore sénile.
Erratum Notice
In opening we would first like to offer our deepest gratitude to Dr Alain Briot for his patience and dedication in translating the collection of seal netsuke published in this catalogue. We would also like to thank him for the translation of the poems within this publication.
MIT UNSER BESTEM DANK AN DR. ALAIN BRIOT FUER SEINE HILFE MIT CHINESISCHE ANSCHRIFTEN UND SIEGEL.
Page 10 - A rare five case inro with a chinkin bori flower design for the ro-iro background and then a flower basket in red lacquer and a chrysanthemum branch and flower in Mitsudae (litharge painting). This is a technique originating from China which is a lead monoxide that will act as a drying agent (siccative) with paulownia oil and silver.
Page 11 last line: Ivory netsuke with two shishi on a base signed Toun
Page 12 - It is a fox trap with a dead rat as a bait, and not, “a strained bow on which a rat climbs and a sword jammed into the ground.”
Page 13 - The wood is Takayasan, not Shitan.
Page 14 - A hexagonal somada technique three case inro inlaid with eight geometric patterns consisting of tiny mother of pearl and gold foil of eight different patterns, weight, lozenge, triangle, Manji, square, and hexagonal shape. The iridescent mother of pearl shimmer in tones of green, blue and purple among the gold. It is signed Somada on the bottom in the gyobu. Note that this lowest case is deeper than the others. The interior is in nashiji and the ojime is a facetted cube decorated in gold and silver.
Page 24/N°15 - Kanamono, not Kakémono.
Page 30/N°22 - It is not pretending to be woven, but is woven.
Page 36/N°32 - Text missing: “tenpô tsuhô Edo period”.
Amulets (Omamori): Chômei Fûki (long life, wealth and honour)
Namu amida butsu (Vénéré soit le Bouddha Amida)
Hikiirigoma (Horse taken to the stable by a monkey)
Page 42/N°44 - Metal manju with an ojime showing Hotei in his sack. The plate is signed Noriaki, the ojime signed Yoshiaki.
Page 42/N°47 - The patterns on this manju feature interlocking manji (卍) inspired by the classic pattern sayagata, a design pattern of interlocking swastikas.. The manji 万字 (卍)is an ancient Indian design which did not enter Japan until the Tenshô 天正 era (1573- 92). In the Edo period, flat stripes of shakudo and copper stripes were woven to form a geometric pattern and then cut to fit the manju shape to which it is bound by a metal rim; what is amazing is that you don’t see any distortion on the bending.This technique started with Ihei from Toshima-ya in Osaka as recorded in the Soken Kisho which states that he did some ashtray in suaka in the style of Ichiraku.
Page 42/N°49 - This ivory manju made by Ipposaï, an artist living in Asakusa (Tokyo), depicts a man smoking a pipe while he is making an ishiusu (small household hand mills to make the flour needed for noodles and dumplings). The grinding surface has a pattern that allowed the flour to run out to the edge.
Page 48/N°67 - A kagamibuta with a silver lid which is definitely not Japanese. But the bowl has obviously been made for this kagamibuta. The plate embedded in a porcelain bowl is decorated with a two-headed bird with stones set. The plate is obviously not Japanese, it could be that it comes from Bohemia or Turkestan.
Page 48/N°68 - This netsuke is made of a coin embedded in a fruit that has been dried. It is a Kan'ei coin which was valid from 1624 to 1953 date on which it was officially suppressed and was worth only one thousandth of Yen.
Page 48/N°70 - Li Bai (701-762), one of the greatest Chinese poets of the Tang dynasty, admiring a waterfall.
Page 52/N°80 - The text bottom left of page 52 should read “The two birds are Kumataka (Nisaetus nipalensis - Mountain Hawk-Eagle)”. 宜印 Giin. Gi means “It is O.K.” and in, “seal”. This directly translates as an “approval seal”.
Page 66/102 This was not published
Page 69/ N°110 - A diapason to tune the Koto (a traditional musical instrument with 13 strings stretched by 13 moving points. On this little diapason are written in gold lacquer the following notes : Ré , Mi bémol, Sol, La, Si bémol ...deux octave et demi.....
Page 79 - The back, that you can see here, displays a typical Himotoshi that was not published in the release.
Page101/N°157 - Made from horse bone (Talisman).
Page 104/N°171 - The text should read “I have never seen one with a convincing signature, although there are some bearing a Tomotada signature .
Page114/N°191 - The end of paragraph should read “Aizu Wakamatsu”, not Aiku.
Page 117 - The description of N°195 is for the N°196, and vice versa.
Page 124/N°207 & N°210 - The last word of 207 should read harigata (a sex toy) and not hiragata same mistake in 208. N°210 “Jugyoku”.
Inro and the text that I submit to Mrs. Klefish before to be at issue.
Medicine were adapted to individual patients rather than to specific illness and they were carried in lacquered tiered boxes called Inro that the Japanese would hang from their belt with a netsuke since their costume did not have any pockets. We have here a selection from the collection of the Koln Asiatic Museum:
The first inro was a 17th century four cases inro decorated with a tortoiseshell dragon rising skywards from the sea through cumulus clouds above foaming waves among clouds in takamakie and foaming waves the Himotoshi are made of silver tubes. The netsuke is a carved dragon. That was not published and there was some change in the description that I gave of the following.
A rare five case inro with a chikin bori flower design for the ro-iro back ground and then a flower basket in red lacquer and a chrysanthemum branch and flower in Mitsudae ( litharge painting) a technique coming from China which is a lead monoxyde that will act as a siccative with pawlovnia oil and silver.
A Takayasan sheath inro with a design of implements for the tea ceremony which opens to give the aspect of a piece of furniture with several shelves on which you have different boxes.The sheath is decorated with all the utensils of the tea ceremony This Inro is likely to have lost its inlaid signature which reads Shôsei but it has been replaced by a rheumatisan gaijin. The ivory manju netsuke is decorated with a branch of leaves in lacquer.
A five case inro with a plain ro-iro ground with a Kogai design decorated with two shishi and a seal which read "Joka" likely to have been made by Jokasai workshop but which here is a Kotobuki,An auspicious ornamental seal having the sense of permanent happiness, note the end of very precious strokes which makes of this seal a signature that becomes ornamental.
An hexagonal somada technique three case inro inlaid with an eight geometric patterns consisting of tiny mother of pearl and gold foil of eight different patterns, weight, lozenge, triangle, Manji, square, and hexagonal shape. The iridescent mother of pearl shimmer in tones of green, blue and purple among the gold.It is signed Somada on the bottom in the gyobu. Note that this lowest case is deeper than the others.
The interior is in nashiji and the ojime is a facetted cube decorated in gold and silver.
Inro du Musée asiatique que j'avais choisis et qui n'ont pas été publiés
A three case inro with a ro-iro background and a Kano Tan’yu design taken from the Gazu hyakkacho vol.4 ( 100 birds and plants); an ôchô (Oriolus chinensis) Korai uguisu a black named oriole perched on a blossoming branch of a Kaido (nagasaki Ringo) a kind of apple tree, looking to the left That is one of the Hundred Gifu Inro, produced by Koma Yasutada for the Gifu Daimyo while he was in the service of the daimyo of that province. The designs in hiramakie is taken from, a wood block printed book by Sekizushi Morinori, first published in 1729.
