Rabbits

[rematron]

Thank you, Jussi.  That's more than I knew before.  I hadn't sat down and tried to translate the origami yet.  With the help of your findings, I also did a search and found a kabuto with a similar theme.  My tsuba is highly reflective and perhaps that is on purpose with the theme of moonlight on the water.

 

Helmet in the Shape of a Crouching Rabbit | Japanese | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

 

 

 

 

[rematron]

@SteveM beat me to it!  Thanks for the links, Steve.  Good reads and make for a much better understanding of this theme.   

 

 

[Jussi Ekholm]

Thanks for the amazing explanation Steve. The themes in fittings are often so complicated understanding the folklore of old Japan is often needed for full appreciation.

[rematron]

 

 

This reminds me of the 'Tanuki Menuki' thread 6 months ago.  These ko-kinko creature depictions seem to be less defined by their appearance and more so by their context.  A lot of them seem to have a similar head and ear shape regardless of what the animal is actually supposed to be.  In the case of these menuki (misidentified as tanuki by the seller)@Bugyotsuji identified them as kitsune because of the objects in their mouths and the symbol on their tails.

[Vermithrax16]

Been a while, but some rabbits were found.

 

Ko-kinko: