Unknown
Ashinaga and Tenagalate 18th-early 19th century

Not on view

Small wood netsuke sculpture of a stooped, bearded figure with arching arms, a smaller smiling figure riding on its back, polished honey-brown finish

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Ashinaga and Tenaga
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: late 18th-early 19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium: Wood with metal
Dimensions: 4 7/16 x 1 5/16 x 1 1/4 in. (11.2 x 3.3 x 3.2 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.91.250.112
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Ashinaga (Long Legs) and Tenaga (Long Arms) are among the many strange beings represented in netsuke, where they usually appear together, barefoot and wearing only cloth skirts, as in this small sculptural group. Hoisted on Ashinaga’s shoulders, Tenaga reaches down with his long arms for whatever sea creature lays at his companion’s feet, typically an octopus or some type of fish, but occasionally a crab or an eel. In the nineteenth century, the subject found favor with some Japanese painters and print designers, such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Kawanabe Kyōsai, but the pair appear far more frequently in netsuke than in any other Japanese medium. They were originally among the many foreign lands and peoples recorded in the ancient Chinese text Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). Copies of this volume and other Chinese texts made their way to Japan, where they were incorporated into publications and encyclopedias throughout the Edo period (1615−1868), providing Japanese artists with a plethora of bizarre creatures, humanlike figures, and foreign beings from which to draw inspiration. In early Chinese sources, Ashinaga and Tenaga are variously described as fishing together—with Long Legs carrying Long Arms on his shoulders—or as individual beings. The pairing of the two seems to have developed in Japan during the Edo period, when it became the standard depiction, emblematic of cooperation, mutual support, and the benefits of contributing to the greater good.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
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.
Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke: Japanese Scultpure in Minature from the Collection of Raymond and Frances Bushell, Part II. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1985.
Drosse, Christine. "Netsuke Basics from A to Z: L." International Netsuke Society Journal 30, no.1 (2010): 34-39.

Unknown
Ashinaga and Tenagalate 18th-early 19th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Ashinaga and Tenaga
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: late 18th-early 19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium: Wood with metal
Dimensions: 4 7/16 x 1 5/16 x 1 1/4 in. (11.2 x 3.3 x 3.2 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.91.250.112
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Ashinaga (Long Legs) and Tenaga (Long Arms) are among the many strange beings represented in netsuke, where they usually appear together, barefoot and wearing only cloth skirts, as in this small sculptural group. Hoisted on Ashinaga’s shoulders, Tenaga reaches down with his long arms for whatever sea creature lays at his companion’s feet, typically an octopus or some type of fish, but occasionally a crab or an eel. In the nineteenth century, the subject found favor with some Japanese painters and print designers, such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Kawanabe Kyōsai, but the pair appear far more frequently in netsuke than in any other Japanese medium. They were originally among the many foreign lands and peoples recorded in the ancient Chinese text Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). Copies of this volume and other Chinese texts made their way to Japan, where they were incorporated into publications and encyclopedias throughout the Edo period (1615−1868), providing Japanese artists with a plethora of bizarre creatures, humanlike figures, and foreign beings from which to draw inspiration. In early Chinese sources, Ashinaga and Tenaga are variously described as fishing together—with Long Legs carrying Long Arms on his shoulders—or as individual beings. The pairing of the two seems to have developed in Japan during the Edo period, when it became the standard depiction, emblematic of cooperation, mutual support, and the benefits of contributing to the greater good.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
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.
Bushell, Raymond. Netsuke: Japanese Scultpure in Minature from the Collection of Raymond and Frances Bushell, Part II. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1985.
Drosse, Christine. "Netsuke Basics from A to Z: L." International Netsuke Society Journal 30, no.1 (2010): 34-39.