What Is The Theme Of These Menuki Supposed To Mean?

[Heringsdorf]

I was wondering what the theme of these menuki represents?

Never seen another similar set.

[SteveM]

Looks like a weasel and farm implements.... maybe there is some story to this. Nothing springs to mind.

The marks on the bottom menuki look to me like 後藤 (Gotō). I don't know what the one on the top is (I mean, I'm guessing its the name of the particular Gotō artist that did this. There were a gazillion of them). 

[jason_mazzy]

weasel and a hunter dressed as a crane with a bow, in front of a moon in a rice paddy or lake

[Heringsdorf]

The signature is actually: Horie Okinari

[nagamaki - Franco]

Hello,

 

I see a fox, bow hunter, and crescent moon along with plant items (bamboo, grain), there must be a story here.

[ggil]

Those are lovely! If you want you can go here to search a 100 year old book that Tom had at the meeting last Sunday. Just type in the search bar and you may get some ideas, or get some greater understanding of other Fittings. It may be good to keep an open mind about what the animal is (my vote is fox) as we may not know the way different animals were depicted back then (or look in Japan today even).

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=V2wuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA156-IA1&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q=Moon&f=false

 

Japanese art motives by Maude Rex Allen.

 

I ordered this book so will be reporting on the reprint when it comes from Amazon.

 

-Grant

[SteveM]

The signature is actually: Horie Okinari

 

Add that to the ever-growing list of misreadings I've done! 

[Ford Hallam]

I think it's a fox too, which suggests Inari Okami.

 

Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神^?, also Oinari) is the Japanese kami of foxes, of fertility, rice, tea and Sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of Shinto. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants.

 

 

 

A sheaf of rice might further suggest prosperity, rice formed the basis of wages for the warrior class and to a great extent the whole economy.

 

What appears to be a hunter is, I think, a bird scarer. Perhaps to safeguard the crops. And the crescent moon, a harvest moon maybe?

[SteveM]

Ahh - when I put in fox + rice sheaf + menuki into the search engine, I get a link to this same menuki on the Choshuya site.

You are right, Ford; fox and scarecrow, both symbols of good harvest, and protectors of the crops. 

 

http://www.choshuya.co.jp/sale/new_tousougu/b/b190/index.htm

[Brian]

Damn...I need that scarecrow menuki
This one...plus another similar one thanks to an incredibly kind gesture by Marius..

 

 

[Kurikata]

I would love to get these menuki to fit with a tsuba of mine.....