Kishōsai
Peasant Viewing the Moonlate 19th century

Not on view

Small ivory or bone lidded box with rounded square form, lid carved in low relief with two robed figures grappling, geometric hexagonal patterns inked into their garments

Artist or Maker: Kishōsai
Japan, active late 19th century
Title: Peasant Viewing the Moon
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: late 19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868) or Meiji period (1868-1912)
Medium: Ivory with staining, sumi, red pigment; manjū type
Dimensions: 1 5/8 x 1 5/16 x 9/16 in. (4.1 x 3.4 x 1.5 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.87.263.23
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Netsuke are small items—most often carvings—that were attached by a cord to inrō or other hanging containers. They sat atop or were tucked into a kimono sash (obi) to secure the suspended objects. Netsuke were produced in a wide variety of forms, manjū being the most compact, named after the traditional bean-paste bun, a popular Japanese confection. A manjū can be fabricated as a solid piece of material or two pieces that fit together and, though typically round in form, may take other shapes.

This square, solid manjū depicts a seated peasant viewing the moon. Tsukimi (moon-viewing) was a favorite festival in the Edo period (1615−1868). It dates back to ancient times when it was a means of giving thanks for an abundant harvest and offering prayers for future prosperity. On the back side of this manjū, in addition to a pair of holes through which the inrō cord was tied, are the artist’s signature and an incised drawing of a pair of rabbits, alluding to the animal’s lunar symbolism. In Japan, the moon is said to present a picture of a rabbit pounding mochi cakes with a mallet. Another connection is the homonym for “full moon” (mochizuki), which sounds like the phrase for pounding rice. Images of rabbits are routinely employed during or in reference to the moon-viewing season.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke Familiar and Unfamiliar: New Principles for Collecting. New York: Weatherhill, 1975.
Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke: Japanese Sculpture in Miniature from the Collection of Raymond and Frances Bushell, Part III. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986.
Goodall, Hollis, Virginia G. Atchley, Neil K. Davey, Christine Drosse, Sebastian Izzard, Odile Madden, and Robert T. Singer. The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Chicago: Art Media Resources, Inc.; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2003.

Kishōsai
Peasant Viewing the Moonlate 19th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Kishōsai
Japan, active late 19th century
Title: Peasant Viewing the Moon
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: late 19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868) or Meiji period (1868-1912)
Medium: Ivory with staining, sumi, red pigment; manjū type
Dimensions: 1 5/8 x 1 5/16 x 9/16 in. (4.1 x 3.4 x 1.5 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.87.263.23
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Netsuke are small items—most often carvings—that were attached by a cord to inrō or other hanging containers. They sat atop or were tucked into a kimono sash (obi) to secure the suspended objects. Netsuke were produced in a wide variety of forms, manjū being the most compact, named after the traditional bean-paste bun, a popular Japanese confection. A manjū can be fabricated as a solid piece of material or two pieces that fit together and, though typically round in form, may take other shapes.

This square, solid manjū depicts a seated peasant viewing the moon. Tsukimi (moon-viewing) was a favorite festival in the Edo period (1615−1868). It dates back to ancient times when it was a means of giving thanks for an abundant harvest and offering prayers for future prosperity. On the back side of this manjū, in addition to a pair of holes through which the inrō cord was tied, are the artist’s signature and an incised drawing of a pair of rabbits, alluding to the animal’s lunar symbolism. In Japan, the moon is said to present a picture of a rabbit pounding mochi cakes with a mallet. Another connection is the homonym for “full moon” (mochizuki), which sounds like the phrase for pounding rice. Images of rabbits are routinely employed during or in reference to the moon-viewing season.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke Familiar and Unfamiliar: New Principles for Collecting. New York: Weatherhill, 1975.
Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke: Japanese Sculpture in Miniature from the Collection of Raymond and Frances Bushell, Part III. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986.
Goodall, Hollis, Virginia G. Atchley, Neil K. Davey, Christine Drosse, Sebastian Izzard, Odile Madden, and Robert T. Singer. The Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of Netsuke: A Legacy at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Chicago: Art Media Resources, Inc.; Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2003.