tsuba Monkey & Kanji

[kissakai]

Hi (again)

 

I have just received the tsuba and papers as shown below
A tsuba by Kishu Sadanaga a pupil of Kawaguchi Hoan. Circa 1700
Motif: Monkey & Kanji
Material: Iron, Copper

 

 

My previous HNB topic link was for a tsuba in the Birmingham museum
http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/12055-monkey-and-kakihane/?hl=kozaru&do=findComment&comment=124779

I have also seen this in a Gallery 3044 (San Francisco) 1982 catalogue
Described as:
The sosho kanji is well cut with monkey and bamboo cane. The face of the monkey is copper without detail. This style is typical of the Kyoto area in Genroku era ca 1700 (Shoami work). It sold for $300

Morita san replied as below
The kao resembles Tokugawa Ieyasu's kao and the monkey means Toyotomi Hideyoshi.??? ----It's just my feeling. :|
I've tried the link below in Google translate but nonsense as usual
http://www.tokka.biz...ings/TS533.html
It fits in well with:
'Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been given the nickname Kozaru, meaning "little monkey", from his lord Oda Nobunaga because his facial features and skinny form resembled that of a monkey. He was also known as the "bald rat"
Morita

Johns comment
That is a really good idea and would have been a grand insult worn by a Toyotomi clan retainer

Bob Haynes said this was Choshu dated around 1750

I have translated the papers as Middle Edo and the school as Owari sukashi

What I’d really like to know is this papers description to see if there is any reference to Tokugawa Ieyasu's kao
Also it looks from the closup that this was black lacquered

With thanks
Grev UK

[Nobody]

................................

What I’d really like to know is this papers description to see if there is any reference to Tokugawa Ieyasu's kao

...............

 

The paper only says that the kanji is "乃" and nothing about the kao.

[kissakai]

Hi Moriyama Koichi san

I looked up the kanji and this is all I got

Kanji details for 乃
1. possessive particle. Archaism
See also の, 之 used esp. on tombs, etc.

Or via google = Ayano

Obviously no reference to my story

 

 

Grev

[Toryu2020]

Grev -

     No Hideyoshi connexion but definitely a Tokugawa connexion. According to the Tsuba Gadai Jiten this theme is known as 日吉山王 (Hiezan nô) and depicts in a stylized way the Torii and Mazaru (Guardian Monkeys) of the Hie (Hiyoshi) Shrine of Shiga prefecture. This shrine has a long association with the Imperial household but in the Edô period a branch of the shrine became the guardian of Edô Castle. Thus the appeal to Edô Tokugawa Samurai. A very cool rendition of this idea, not your everyday tsuba.

 

more on Monkeys here;

 

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/monkey-koushin-p3.html#ideograms

[kissakai]

Hi Thomas

Thanks for the link

Looking at your definition

No Hideyoshi connexion but definitely a Tokugawa connexion.

According to the Tsuba Gadai Jiten this theme is known as 日吉山王 (Hiezan nô) and depicts in a stylized way the Torii and Mazaru (Guardian Monkeys) of the Hie (Hiyoshi)

Shrine of Shiga prefecture.

This would fit better, as potentially three different schools used this design suggesting a more popular theme than the Ieyasu connection

 

With Moritas' description he did say the kanji was more of a feeling. Problem is the description below is so much more appealing to me but obviously this doesn't make it right

The kao resembles Tokugawa Ieyasu's kao and the monkey means Toyotomi Hideyoshi.??? ----It's just my feeling. :|
'Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been given the nickname Kozaru, meaning "little monkey", from his lord Oda Nobunaga because his facial features and skinny form resembled that of a monkey.

 

I believe it all comes down to the interpretation of this one kanji - 乃 - so I'd welcome any more views and if I'm right about the tsuba having black lacquer

 

 

Grev UK

 

 

[John A Stuart]

A homophone for  乃 is 亡い which means dead. There is precedent for this, but, I don't know about this case in particular. John

[Stephen]

I thought the Monkey was a Nazi supporter...sorry someone had to say it. I think it would be a great tsuba without the monkey 

[Toryu2020]

Grev -

Look for examples of the Mazaru - the presentation of this style of monkey in art is unique and I think matches your example.

Hideyoshi was called "saru" by Nobunaga but it was an insult - others may have referred to him this way but not to his face when he was alive. And no one would wear the insult as a badge on their tsuba.

 

Additionally I would say Tokugawa and Toyotomi symbols on one tsuba would not have happened even after he was dead. Regardless it is a great design.

 

-t

(for Tom)

[kissakai]

Hi Tom

This is all I've found plus a book extract

 

MASARU

Kanji 勝 in Japanese

Means "victory"

 

Outside of Japan the monkeys' names are sometimes given as Mizaru, Mikazaru, and Mazaru, the last two names were corrupted from the Japanese originals.
The three monkeys are Japanese macaques, a common species in Japan.

 

Hideyoshi 秀吉 Toyotomi 豊臣

In ‘Legend in Japanese Art’ there is this extract

As taiko he had a monkey that was taught to jump at every visitor in a threatening manner

 

Looking at the kanji I wondered if the meaning was split and read as:

末
乃

 

 

Grev

[Guido]

"-zaru -ざる" is an archaic negative verb conjugation, and is pronounced the same as zaru, the vocalized form of saru 猿, monkey. The famous three wise monkeys at Nikkō's Tōshōgū use this word play for an old proverb: mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru 見ざる, 聞かざる, 言わざる – don't see, don't hear, don't speak [evil].

 

Maybe this is a similar word play, nozaru – although I don't know what it might stand for.

 

[SteveM]

Found two other examples of this motif 「乃字猿」

 

http://www.tokka.biz/fittings/TS533.html

http://okazakipark.com/museum/db/kikaku/E/e041%20token.htm

 

Still searching for an explanation...

 

Edit: Found a third one http://aucview.aucfan.com/yahoo/b166820306/

2nd Edit: Found a fourth one http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/jcbmy121/14051071.html

 

This fourth one hints at the tsuba being from the Yasaka school. Yasaka is the name of a temple in Kyoto that is associated with the three wise monkeys mentioned above (hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil). The Japanese name of the temple 八坂庚申堂 (Yasaka Kōshindō) has the zodiac character for "monkey" in it (申). May be getting close to something. 

 

Grev I think the accompanying kanji for 乃 would be 禾 (ine) instead of 末, but my guess is that this line of inquiry is a dead end. I don't think the monkey is Hideyoshi. Will keep looking. 

[kissakai]

Hi

This has caused a few scratched heads but it's nice to try to get into the smiths mind

Although not common it is a theme that has been used by different makers so I'm assuming that there is a definate meaning but no idea if we can arrive at a definate conclusion
So what was clear as day a few hundred years ago is now clear as mud!

 

This is all I've understood from Steves links
Link 1:
Kyo Tadashi Honami

 

Link 2
鐔 characters and monkey combined openwork of " Ayano " . "乃字 Sarutoru"

 

Link 3

Nothing I can use

 

Link 4

The seller is also confused

 

I think is safe but disappointing to disguard the Hideyoshi link

Grev

[Toryu2020]

look up Hie jinja, also read Hiyoshi jinja

the original is in Shiga but there is a branch in Edo (Tokyo) the messengers of the guardian diety are monkeys - the temple has many monkeys depicted in statue and painting. These are distinctly different from the monkeys of Nikko.

 

the no character i believe is a stylized torii - i do not know but it may be that the inspiration was someone's kao as you suggest. I think if you just search images you will see what I mean.

 

-t

[kissakai]

Hi

If the monkey was wearing a hat then the reference to 'Hie jinja, would work and as suggested I've done an image search but without success

 

I don't see the tori suggestion

 

There are loads of references to the monkey that are not very complementary so I wonder why someone would  wear this design.

There is the year of the monkey so could it depict a birth or special event in the year of the monkey

Looking again at the monkey it appears to be sitting on a branch, but if it was a branch it is very poorly done especially with an unrealistic branch curving down

I've not noticed this type of ‘pointing’ monkey posture

 

So even with all your help it may undecipherable

 

 

Grev UK