- XVII-XVIII

B-1147

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 10.3; Diametro: 4.2

Bronzo a fusione piena, con patinatura scura

Kangiten, the Buddhist form of Ganesha, is recognizable by his elephant head, the Hindu god of fortune who has the power to remove obstacles. The cult of Kangiten arrived in Japan between the 8th and 9th centuries from China together with esoteric Buddhism which includes many deities of Indian origin. At this stage he was represented as a single deity with several arms, similar to Ganesha. During the late Heian period (794-1185), however, images of couples of Kangiten (Sōshin Kangiten) appeared, in which two anthropomorphic figures with elephant heads, a male and a female, embrace; an iconography totally absent in the Indian tradition. The hugging Kangiten would represent a legend told in various Buddhist texts where the evil deity Vinayaka (another name for Ganesha) is pacified by the eleven-faced Kannon, who transformed into a beautiful woman and joins him, with the intention of putting him on the right path that leads to the understanding of Buddhist truths. The female has the toes above those of the male, a symbol of the submission of the malevolent nature of Vinayaka by Kannon. Kangiten, like the Indian Ganesha, was therefore initially seen as a malevolent god, creator of obstacles. Once pacified by Kannon, however, he becomes, on the contrary, a benevolent deity. The most common representations of Kangiten are small metal statuettes that were used in rituals in which oil was poured on the images. This statuette was probably used for this type of ceremony. The statuettes were then kept inside a cylindrical case and hidden from the view of the faithful. The Kangiten images are in fact secret images, not shown to the public due to their strong erotic meaning and they are therefore often preserved by Japanese temples as "hidden Buddhas" (hibutsu).

C-3

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 18; Diametro: 11.5

porcellana- pittura

Sake bottle (tokkuri) with a pear-shaped body, no foot and a short cylindrical neck. A blue-white cover covers the entire external surface except for the base, which is characterised by a dark chamois background on which a spiral is impressed. The body features a yoraku motif, composed of thin crossed grains forming lozenges decorated with tassels and pendants. The net is interrupted by two lobed green reserves with kotubuki alternating with two other Chinese fan-shaped folders containing a stylised, clawless dragon. Chrysanthemum corollas and leaves appear on the neck on a blue background. This type is known as "Arita porcelain" or "Imari", with kakiemon decoration.

- XVI

AA-4

Unità di misura: UNR

ferro, crine, pelle, seta, tessuti

Hotoke-do type armor. A large gold-colored dragon stands out on the armor; there is a helmet and neck guard, a mask with hair and protective elements for the legs and arms. The helmet is a Hoshi Suji kabuto with maedate mitsu kuwagata. A bowl (hachi) made of riveted segment-shaped plates with ribbed edges and spherical bosses, with rivets (shiten no byō) on the cap. On the top of the bowl there is a hole (tehen no ana or hachimanza) with a related ornamental ring (tehen no kanamono) with a floral brass decoration. On the back there is a flat plate decorated with a golden edge and a hook (agemaki no kan) with a related decorative knot (agemaki). There are shinobi no o, rope laces used to secure the helmet to the chin. The visor (maebashi) has five small pointed rivets and three larger flower rivets (sanko no byō). There is an iris petal motif decoration (shobu-gawa) with a worked leather insert and a blue, green, white and gold silk thread as a border and a twisted gold metal border (fukurin). Inserted into a kuwagatadai, riveted to the gilded metal visor to support the flat kuwagata horns with a vertical sword, gilded in the center of which is a tsunomoto (the additional maedate is missing). There are large fukigaeshi with an iris petal motif (shobu gawa) decoration, pointed decorative rivets, suede inserts and a crest (mon) of seven concentric circles within a larger circle (maru ni shichō丸に七曜), a crest that represents a five-pointed star in the form of a circle. Shikoro composed of three large lacquered lamellae, held together by red laces. The mask is a me no shita men, protecting the lower part of the face, with a horsehair moustache. Throat guard (yodare kake or tare) formed by four wavy lamellae held together by dark blue laces.

- XVIII

T-568

Unità di misura: UNR

Ferro patinato inciso e traforato

Tsuba” (鐔 or more commonly 鍔), sword guard/hand guard. The tsuba was an independent and removable part of the body of the katana (刀) that, yes, had as its original purpose that of safeguarding the hand of the person holding the sword, but which over time increasingly became an indicator of social status. It is a “simple” metal plate of which there are traces dating back to the end of the Kofun period (250 BC-538 AD), but which starting from the Edo period (1600-1868) took on increasingly complex and particular forms. If already between the 14th and 15th centuries, alloys based on soft metals began to be used instead of steel for their forging, it is from the Edo period that they took on the function of “status indicator” since, when the katana was placed in its scabbard (鞘, “saya”), they were the only visible part together with the hilt (柄, “tsuka”). In their manufacture, the use of gold or silver inserts was introduced and natural, mythical or fantastic elements began to be depicted on the surface of the tsuba, which therefore took on increasingly complex forms. This is particularly true for the “external” or “upper” part of the tsuba called “omote” (表). Tsuba with festoon of eighteen shells. Shell motif, belongs to the Kinai 記内家 school, active in Japan between the 17th and 18th centuries. This school was affiliated with the Yasutsugu (康継) family of blacksmiths, who produced blades for the Tokugawa. The distinctive feature of the Kinai style is the openwork modeled in round and executed with great mastery. The most recurring subjects are naturalistic elements, and, in particular, dragons. This school is also famous for its engravings on blades.

- XIX

P-0341

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 32.1; Larghezza: 54.8; Varie: Altezza montatura: 110 cm
Larghezza montatura: 66.8 cm

inchiostro e colori su seta

La Rinascita della Pittura Giapponese. Vent'anni di restauri al Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Museo d'Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 28/02 - 29/06 2014

The Japanese mountain par excellence is Mount Fuji (富士山, Fuji-yama), a 3,776 m high volcano located on the Japanese island of Honshū; At 3,376 m, it is the highest mountain in Japan and is considered one of the "three sacred mountains" (三霊山, Sanreizan) of the country together with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, so much so that Shintoists consider it a must to make at least one pilgrimage to its slopes once in their lifetime. Its summit is snow-capped for about 10 months of the year. Painting with original silk mount: ichimonji in kinran with a yellow-orange background with single-stemmed swirls of hōsōge flowers and foliage; chūberi and jōge given by a single hanging in monochrome blue-black donsu with large drawings of stylised plum blossoms; jikushi in turned ivory. The artist takes up the very famous image of Mount Fuji created by Hokusai for the series of ukiyo-e prints "Thirty-six Views of Fuji" (1830-1833); the mountain has a peak that stands out on the right and descends to the left in a gentle curved slope just like in Hokusai's prints. On the left side are depicted coniferous forests, as in one of Hokusai's variants "Red Fuji" and "White Fuji", while the ring-shaped cloud that wraps the slopes with a cap of snow that covers the peak are innovations of Hokkei. The author of the kyōka poem 狂歌, calligraphed on the left, is Garyōen Umemaro, head of the Hanazon-ren kyōka poetry circle. The lines read: Here is a mountain that knows no seasons Fuji is dressed in the snow of the summer robe In the warmth of the small sixth month (tenth month) (Signed) Garyōen Umemaro, eighth month, autumn of the Year of the Rooster, eighth of the Tempō Period. For Umemaro, Fuji wears “the snow of the summer robe” in the “warmth of the small sixth month,” a name formerly given to the tenth month of the traditional calendar, in which the calm and cool autumn days resembled those of early summer (of the sixth month). This Japanese poetic genre, which flourished mainly in the Edo period, is a form of humorous and satirical poetry, often characterized by puns and a playful tone. The meaning lies in playfully contradicting classical tradition, in particular by inverting the meaning of the ancient attribute 'toki shiranu Fuji', “the Fuji that knows no seasons”, an expression derived from a waka (Japanese poem) in the Ise Monogatari that describes Fuji as being perpetually covered in snow, even in summer.

- XVIII

P-0324

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 34.2; Larghezza: 471.4

inchiostro, colori e oro su seta

La Rinascita della Pittura Giapponese. Vent'anni di restauri al Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Museo d'Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 28/02 - 29/06 2014

Painted scroll with new silk mount: hyōshi in kinran on a blue-green background with a small geometric checkerboard pattern and leaf washers; mikaeshi in paper decorated with kin-sunago; jikushu in turned natural cherry wood decorated in makie lacquer with cherry blossoms and petals. Consisting of four scenes, the scroll opens with a plum tree in blossom, in front of which a traveling puppeteer surrounded by three children performs his show. Nearby, between a cherry tree in blossom and a pine tree, a manzai dressed in a light gray suō with green and blue designs, with the haberi eoshi headdress and a folding fan in his hand, dances to the sound of the saizō's shoulder tambourine and the shakuhachi flute of two komusō. Three young boys and a woman with three little girls watch the dance. The second scene consists of three groups: two elderly tea-utensil sellers carrying auspicious pine branches; two boys turning to look at a yamabushi who is playing a conch shell and is accompanied by an attendant carrying on his back an enormous lotus leaf-shaped hat; an elegant effeminate actor accompanied by a young boy and followed by a servant carrying a kimono. The opening of the third episode is marked by a red plum tree. A Shinto priest advances with a ritual staff with scrolls. He is approached by a courtesan holding a child by the hand and is followed by an effeminate boy and a maid with an infant on her shoulder. The group arouses the curiosity of a street vendor. A short distance away, followed by two maids carrying bundles, a lady advances covering her head with a mantilla and turns back in the direction of a man with an enormous Chinese lion mask who is about to begin a dance to the rhythm of the kankaradaiko. Nearby, two blind men and a child are listening, and a lute player is striding away, with his instrument wrapped in a white cloth on his shoulder. The fourth scene begins near some cherry trees in bloom. A woman with her hair wrapped in a gray cap walks with a boy and a girl, while in the opposite direction a Shinto priestess walks, accompanied by a servant carrying a box. Lastly come three Ōharame carrying bundles of firewood. A stream winding between grassy banks closes the composition.

- XIX

P-0316

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 55; Larghezza: 119; Varie: Altezza montatura: 168.3 cm
Larghezza montatura: 128.3 cm

inchiostro e colori su seta

La Rinascita della Pittura Giapponese. Vent'anni di restauri al Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Museo d'Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 28/02 - 29/06 2014

The Seven Sages are seven Chinese Taoist scholars of the third century who, rejecting Confucian thought and Wu shamanic practices, retired to a hermitage to be independent and perpetuate the Wuwei philosophy. From the eighteenth century onwards, in Japan, parodic depictions of this theme began to appear, where the seven sages were replaced by seven beautiful women or courtesans, as in this case. These women, from different social backgrounds, are each depicted in a pose that best highlights the strong points of each dress (from the sumptuous dress of the courtesan decorated with a tiger, through elegant kimonos to simple bath robes, yukata) which suggests that the painting was commissioned by a tailor shop as a sales gimmick, to show the quality and wide range of products on sale, accessible to all classes. The woman in the center, holding a teacup, wears a casually blue yukata robe with stylized blue bats in flight. The fact that the artist and the patron decided to publicize this motif is evidence of how popular and in demand it was. Painting with original Tamato rinbo silk mount: ichimonji in polychrome atsuita with geometric Bishamon-kikkō motif; chūberi in blue-ground patterned fabric with swirls and peonies; jōge in ivory-colored satin; jikushu in wood and brown urumi urushi lacquer inlaid with thin iridescent mother-of-pearl with hōsōge flowers. The work depicts seven women in a large room closed at the corner on the left side by a large two-panel screen, painted in ink with some bamboo plants near a stream. Four figures are seated while the rest are standing. It is a parodic representation of the Seven Philosophers of the Bamboo Forest. The subject is used as a pretext to represent female types from different social backgrounds: an oiran, a city girl who is busy writing a poem on a tanzaku scroll, a geisha with a shimasen, the wealthy wives of a merchant and a craftsman, two maids.

- XIX

P-0277

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 103.7; Larghezza: 33.1; Varie: Altezza montatura: 182 cm
Larghezza montatura: 44 cm

inchiostro e colori su seta

La Rinascita della Pittura Giapponese. Vent'anni di restauri al Museo Chiossone di Genova - Genova, Museo d'Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone - 28/02 - 29/06 2014

Of ancient Chinese origin, the theme of the tiger among the bamboos symbolizes the strong who find shelter with the weak and is based on a popular saying according to which only this animal is able to penetrate the thick of a bamboo forest. Since the tiger is not an animal native to Japan, painters could not observe it in real life, which is why the way in which the tiger is represented here is not realistic: the local iconography is partly derived from Chinese and Korean painting, partly immagineted. A symbol of strength and courage in Chinese tradition, the tiger is believed to be capable of fighting and deflecting negative powers and is the bearer of a legendary, mythological and cosmological physiognomy. Listed among the shishin, the "Four Sacred Creatures" (the other three are the dragon, the vermilion bird, the turtle with a snake), in archaic cosmography (which included the cardinal points, the seasons, the colors, the natural elements and the stars) the tiger is associated with the West, autumn, the color white, the wind and the constellations of Orion, Taurus and Andromeda. Furthermore, in the zodiac it is the third eponymous animal of the sub-cycles of twelve years, which is why the dating of the painting is oriented around 1818, the year of the tiger and the last year of the Bunka era. Painting with original Yamato hyōgu mount in silk: ichimonji and fūtai in kinran with a hazelnut background with drawings of onagadori in flight alternating with flowers; chūberi in two-tone donsu on a green background with ivory-colored designs of asaro stems and leaves; jōge in cream-colored shikeginu; jikushu in turned ivory. The work depicts a tiger crouching near two bamboo canes arranged diagonally. The animal looks at the sky in which a huge full moon shines. The painting features the typical features of tigers painted in Japan: narrow and very flat nose, tiny and pointed ears, enormous eyes, large and clawed paws.