This 4 cm boxwood sculpture is netsuke "Sennin and Karako (meaning 'Daoist immortal and child')" carved by Seiho Azuma. It was on show this March at Tokyo National Museum. A netsuke is a small carved ornament, especially of ivory or wood, worn as part of Japanese traditional dress as a toggle by which an article may be attached to the sash of a kimono (Source: Lexico).
Daoist immortals have attained immortality through Daoist practice and I'm not irrelevant to them. First, I'm a great fan of Fukurokuju, one such Daoist immortal and the god of wisdom, luck, longevity, wealth and happiness in Japan. He's characterized by the size of his head almost as large as the size of his whole body. I like him so much that I've written about several netsuke of Fukurokuju. If you're interested in Fukurokuju netsuke, read this post.
Thirdly, I'm also a great fan of Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892 - 1927), who must have liked Daoist immortals so much that he wrote two short stories both entitled "Daoist immortal." Ryunosuke Akutagawa killed himself at the age of 35 but is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story." The Akutagawa Prize, i.e., Japan's premier literary award, is named after him. It's so sad and ironic that someone who's interested in immortal persons so much killed himself that young.
If you love netsuke, see this list to see more than 40 netsuke!
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| "Daoist immortal and child" by Seiho Azuma, boxwood「仙人と唐子」東声方作 黄楊 |
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東京国立博物館に展示されていた根付「仙人と唐子」です。東声方作、黄楊製です。
「仙人」には縁があるんです。私の大好きな福禄寿ですが（根付の記事も書いてます）、何と神格化された仙人なのです。
更につい先日「仙人草」についても書きました。痩果に付く綿毛を仙人の髭に見たてたからこの名が付いたそうです。
そして、これまた私の好きな芥川龍之介ですが、何と「仙人」という短編を2つも書いているんです！よっぽど仙人のことを好きだったんでしょうね。でも不老不死の仙人にそんなに興味のあった彼が35歳で自殺するなんてちょっと悲しいですね｡｡｡
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