Japanese Meiji Ivory Netsuke
Kanzan
& Jittoku
Reading
Zen Scripture
Signature: Gyokusho. Circa: 19th Century
H
2in.(5cm.), W 1.5in.(3.5cm.),
D 1in.(2.5cm.)
Condition: restored
left hand, no himotoshi An
antique Meiji Era netsuke, cream to gold in color with a mellow age patina; marked
with striations, engraved with sumi for the details of faces, hair and embroideries
in foliate and cloud motifs; well carved and tinted with a rose colored pigment
for the collars of the garments. Natural himotoshi. Depicting two famous mad monks,
Kanzan and Jittoku.
Sold
to Private Collection
|  | Kanzan's
name means "Cold Mountain," and so he is sometimes called the "Recluse of Cold
Mountain." Jittoku's name means "the Foundling." Kanzan was a mountain recluse
or hermit in the Taoist tradition. Jittoku was an orphan in the care of a nearby
Buddhist monastery, where he swept the kitchen floors. Jittoku would often bring
left over food from the monastery kitchen to Kanzan, and the two would amuse themselves
in the evening with poetry and moon viewing. Kanzan usually appears holding or
reading a scroll representing knowledge, and Jittoku appears holding a broom symbolizing
his humility.
| Kanzan
wrote: I found
and chose a distant place to dwell-
T'ien-t'ai: what more is there to say?
Monkeys cry where valley mists are cold;
My grass gate blends with the
color of the crags.
I pick leaves to thatch a hut among the pines,
Scoop
out a pond and lead a runnel from the spring.
By now I am used to doing without
the world.
Picking ferns, I pass the years that are left.
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