Glazed pottery netsuke toggle in the shape of a man carrying a bell. [N.B. 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 18/5/2005]

Collection type: Object
Description: Glazed pottery netsuke toggle in the shape of a man carrying a bell. [N.B. 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 18/5/2005]
Geographical reference: Japan
Asia > Eastern Asia > Japan
Cultural groups: Japanese
Person: PRM source Hermann Arthur Gunther; PRM source Albert Everard Gunther
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1936
Date collected: By 1936
Acquisition information: Loaned: 1944 Donated: 1980
Materials and processes: Material Pottery, Material Pigment, Process Fire-Hardened, Process Glazed, Process Perforated, Process Inscribed, Process Painted
Dimensions: Height: max 46 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1980.34.2438
Research and responses: Benkei was a hero of the 12th century. One of the stories about him is the story of the bell of Miidera (a temple at a monastery), which he wanted to carry to Hiyeisan. This he did by carrying the bell with its beam on his shoulder, but when he began to strike it, the sound it made sounded like 'Miidera ye Yuko' (I want to return to Miidera). Benkei dropped the bell at the edge of a mountain, gave it a kick and let it roll back to Miidera. See 'Legend in Japanese Art' by Henri L. Joly, p. 21. [El.B 23/01/2012]

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