Netsuke "Mermaid" 人魚木彫根付

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a 19th-century wooden netsuke shaped like a mermaid, measuring 4 to 5 cm long, housed at the Tokyo National Museum. Its carver is unknown.

I was surprised by this netsuke because it's not what I imagined a mermaid to look like. (It doesn't look like the Little Mermaid at all!) I googled it and was even more surprised to find that in Japan, The Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan) referred to mermaids as early as the 6th century. Japan also has a legendary Buddhist nun who lived to be 800 years old by eating the flesh of a mermaid. Wow, the concept of a mermaid varies significantly from country to country!　

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). If you love netsuke, check out this list of dozens of items!

Netsuke "Mermaid" 人魚木彫根付

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東京国立博物館に展示されていた「人魚木彫根付」です。木製で19世紀作です。それにしてもこれは人魚なんでしょうか。イメージが違う｡｡｡ で調べたら、人魚って日本でも6世紀ぐらいから伝承されているようです。しかも人魚の肉を食べて800歳まで生きた八百比丘尼という尼さんの伝説もあります。人魚姫の人魚とはずいぶん違う扱いですね。

根付お好きな方は是非こちらのリストもご覧ください！たくさんの根付を掲載しています。

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