This beautifully made and delightfully playful Mejii era kiseruzutsu (a pipe, pipe case and tobacco pouch) features an alert and ready tanuki (badger) who is holding a staff and protecting the gracefully made pipe. In Japanese lore, the tanuki is a playful good-natured creature who also just happens to be a shape-shifter. Often guarding the establishments of noodle shops and drinking establishments, he is often depicted as symbol of rambunctious fertility. In Japan tobacco was enjoyed in small amounts (a couple pinches). The humerous nature of this particular kiseruzutsu is atypical of the Meiji era. The burled wood on this case is highly lustrous, and incorporation into design catapults natural elements to a distinctive form. Along with a intricately carved ojimi nut, which shows a mounting tiger and a frlicking dragon. The Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi cultivates and celebrates the perfection within imperfection and the intrinsic beauty found in the asymmetrical yet organically wise forms of nature. This unique Mejii era kiseruzutsu is in excellent condition. (SD)