 | Antique
Japanese Ivory Okimono
Nine
Tailed Fox
Tamamo-no-Mae
and Yasunari
Signed: Tomochika, Circa: early 19th Century
H
3.75in.(9.5cm), W 2.25in.(5.7cm), D 1.5in.(3.8cm)
Condition: crackline on tail A
okimono by the famed netsukeshi Tomochika. Walrus ivory, cream to gold in color
with characteristic markings, a high hand finish with age patina, hair lines and
engraving with sumi; traces of red pigment. Depicting the moment of discovery,
when the lady Tamamo-no-Mae is revealed to be the cunning fox-woman.
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carving illustrates the Kabuki play Tamamo-no-Mae which premiered in1811 in Osaka,
in which Lady Tamamo-no-Mae kills a young woman whom the Emperor Toba has summoned
to court, and assumes her identity as a lady-in-waiting, quickly becoming the
Emperor’s favorite concubine. She then joins the emperor's elder brother in a
plot to dethrone Toba agreeing to use her supernatural powers to aid him. When
the Emperor falls ill, the chief astrologer of the court, Yasunari, discovers
— thanks to a gust of wind that blows out all the candles and lamps in the palace
— that Lady Tamamo-no-Mae emits a blue light from her body that shines through
the silk blades of her fan. Seeing that she is a fox-witch he sets a trap, inviting
her to a prayer service to save the emperor, where he unsheathes a magical sword,
threatening to slay her. Forced to admit her true identity Tamamo-no-Mae assumes
her fox form--a spectacular, nine-tailed, white fox --and flies away. Private
Collection |  |
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| Tomochika
I (1800-1873)
Born in Edo, Tomochika was the younger brother
of Shominsai Chikamasa from whom he learned carving. He lived in Sugamo, Tokyo
where he became well known for his ivories depicting animals, shells and subjects
from the Manga of Hokusai. A hallmark of his style is its emphasis on narrative
content and design over surface embellishment, an ideal exemplified in this okimono
illustrating various elements of a drama in a single vision. Tomochika I was the
teacher of several well known netsuke masters including Tomokazu. He died in Tokyo
at the age of 74.
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