Shūgetsu III
Moxibustion Patient in Agonymid-19th century

Not on view

Small carved wood netsuke of a bald, bare-chested seated man with knees drawn up, inlaid eyes and teeth, high-gloss chestnut-brown patina

Artist or Maker: Shūgetsu III
Japan, active until circa 1880, born 1828
Title: Moxibustion Patient in Agony
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: mid-19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868) or Meiji period (1868-1912)
Medium: Wood with inlays
Dimensions: 1 5/16 x 1 1/16 x 1 3/8 in. (3.4 x 2.7 x 3.5 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.91.250.161
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Scenes of daily life were a popular theme in nineteenth-century netsuke production. Favorite subjects included street vendors, people at work, preparing food, and tending to everyday chores. In this tiny wood sculpture, a man grimaces in pain after receiving moxibustion treatment below the knee. The moxa pellet, teeth, and eyes are inlaid with ivory, the pupils delineated with dark horn. Nineteenth-century netsuke carvers often combined materials such as seen here.

Moxicautery or moxibustion (J. kyū) is a healing technique that came to Japan from China. In their search for immortality, Chinese Daoists were among the earliest people to explore the products of nature for their healing properties. Natural remedies were documented in Chinese publications that made their way to Japan, where many of the treatments were adopted by the Japanese. Mugwort is the principal ingredient in moxa, a puttylike substance used in a healing practice akin to acupuncture. In moxibustion, a very small, cone-shaped pellet of the paste is applied to key areas on the body and set alight, producing intense heat at the spot. The word moxa is derived from the Japanese mogusa, a combination of moe (burn) and kusa (herb). This manipulation of specific points on the body is believed to restore the flow of energy (qi), thereby bringing relief to those suffering from any number of ailments. Moxibustion was used extensively during the Edo period (1615−1868) not only to treat illness but as a means of maintaining physical wellbeing.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Hurtig, Bernard. Masterpieces of Netsuke Art: One Thousand Favorites of Leading Collectors. New York: Weatherhill, 1973.
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.
Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
Drosse, Christine. "Netsuke Basics from A to Z: M." International Netsuke Society Journal 30, no.2 (2010): 34-41.

Shūgetsu III
Moxibustion Patient in Agonymid-19th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Shūgetsu III
Japan, active until circa 1880, born 1828
Title: Moxibustion Patient in Agony
Place Made: Japan
Date Made: mid-19th century
Period: Edo period (1603-1868) or Meiji period (1868-1912)
Medium: Wood with inlays
Dimensions: 1 5/16 x 1 1/16 x 1 3/8 in. (3.4 x 2.7 x 3.5 cm)
Credit Line: Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Accession Number: M.91.250.161
Classification: Costumes
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: Scenes of daily life were a popular theme in nineteenth-century netsuke production. Favorite subjects included street vendors, people at work, preparing food, and tending to everyday chores. In this tiny wood sculpture, a man grimaces in pain after receiving moxibustion treatment below the knee. The moxa pellet, teeth, and eyes are inlaid with ivory, the pupils delineated with dark horn. Nineteenth-century netsuke carvers often combined materials such as seen here.

Moxicautery or moxibustion (J. kyū) is a healing technique that came to Japan from China. In their search for immortality, Chinese Daoists were among the earliest people to explore the products of nature for their healing properties. Natural remedies were documented in Chinese publications that made their way to Japan, where many of the treatments were adopted by the Japanese. Mugwort is the principal ingredient in moxa, a puttylike substance used in a healing practice akin to acupuncture. In moxibustion, a very small, cone-shaped pellet of the paste is applied to key areas on the body and set alight, producing intense heat at the spot. The word moxa is derived from the Japanese mogusa, a combination of moe (burn) and kusa (herb). This manipulation of specific points on the body is believed to restore the flow of energy (qi), thereby bringing relief to those suffering from any number of ailments. Moxibustion was used extensively during the Edo period (1615−1868) not only to treat illness but as a means of maintaining physical wellbeing.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Hurtig, Bernard. Masterpieces of Netsuke Art: One Thousand Favorites of Leading Collectors. New York: Weatherhill, 1973.
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.
Bushell, Raymond. An Exhibition of Netsuke from the Raymond Bushell Collection. Tokyo: Mikimoto World Jewelers, 1979.
Drosse, Christine. "Netsuke Basics from A to Z: M." International Netsuke Society Journal 30, no.2 (2010): 34-41.