A figure of Benkei and the Giant Carp. Japan, Edo, circa 1700
Naturalistically moulded and modeled figure of a carp, with protruding eyes, incised rays and scales with the figure pop a boy riding the back of the carp.
- Country:
- Japan (Arita)
- Period :
- Edo (1602-1868), circa 1700
- Material:
- Porcelain
- Dimension:
- 9.84 in. (25 cm)
- Reference :
- E110
- Status:
- sold
Related works
An identical group is the collection of the Ashmolean Museum, University, Oxford (Accession no. EA1978.447) and illustrated by Oliver Impey in Japanese Export Porcelain: catalogue of the Collection of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Hotei Publishing, 2002, p. 187, no. 297.
Different groups depicting Benkei are known, see Okimono – Japanese porcelain figures from the Edo period, Jorg Welsh, 2022, pp. 168/179.
Notice
Oniwakamaru (young demon) is a popular figure in Japanese folklore. He was as a warrior-monk who lived during the 12th century and is often depicted as a young boy. In many stories, he is on a quest for revenge for the death of his mother. He was the son of a priest of Kumano, in Kii, and it is said that while a young student at the temple, he discovered that a giant carp had eaten his mother near the Bishamon Waterfall. He left the temple and looked for the carp to avenge her death. He became later Benkei, the legendary 12th century giant warrior monk (sohei), famous for his supernatural strength equivalent to that of one hundred men.
He is represented on the group wearing a fighter’s cloth band around his shaven head, has a facial expression of menacing determination, and is wearing a loose kimono revealing a bare arm and shoulder.
