The San Francisco Chapter gathered at the home of Anne and Alan Fisher on Sunday, September 13, 2009. Old and new member collectors shared some tasty treats and had a glass of wine.   The meeting was started by our new President, Marsha Vargas Handley, who gave us  her recollections of the history and interesting stories of Japanese netsuke dealers in the Bay area in recent times including her own history as a art dealer.   Then the recent INS NY convention was discussed as well as the Kirchoff collection sale, and the possibility of a meeting of the three West Coast chapters between conventions.

A new collector, Mandy, who attended her first convention in New York, brought us some fresh insights and the excitement of a new collector.  We enjoyed looking at her manju netsuke of Nitta no Shiro riding the boar while an oni on the other side was ready to create mischief which it has already done as Mandy is on the trail of her next oni. 

Another new guest, Robert, who started posting on the INS Forum several months ago, joined us to learn more about his deceased father's collection. Primarily interested photography, he has rapidly accumulated information about the collection from contributors on the web site. Among about 20 pieces he brought to share, he delighted us with an Okatomo monkey, beautifully done with lively face and a Shibayama inro/netsuke/ojime suite. Looking at these pieces was a sheer pleasure and made us think of the love and care his father must have taken in his collecting.  His choices showed a keen eye and his love of nature. The INS Forum is a great vehicle for people to gain knowledge about netsuke and to recruit new members to the INS local chapters.

Linda Meredith brought two fine carvings of Daikoku in ivory with lacquered accents and Ebisu of totally lacquered carved wood, that complemented each other nicely and then introduced a netsuke of an Ikkosai rabbit which she revealed was made of plastic. Our host talked her out of the Ebisu after the meeting and it now resides in his collection. It was previously posted on the INS Forum. 

 Bob and Lindsey brought a number of fine netsuke along with an unusual lively piece in stag-antler of a figure of Shoki with Shishi on its head in place of the usual oni. As both the Shoki and the Shishi are protective figures, the Shoki against oni or demons and the Shishi as guarding figures for temples or shrines, the combination is rare. This combination of the figures can be found in Hokusai paintings but is unusual in netsuke form. 

Kumiko Iwasawa brought a very fine tonkotsu in the form of a leather tobacco pouch (tabako-ire) inlaid with five coins signed Masanao along with a number of new publications.               

Alan Fisher talked a bit about the Legend of Kintaro/Kintoki and showed two examples, one of which we decided was more likely a representation of Momotaro, the Peach-ling with the aid of a guest, Kazue Vedder who has taught Japanese in the Bay Area for the past 20 years, and brought insights of Japanese life and culture to our group.  

Alan at the last minute showed a very fine Kyoto ivory boar which he obtained at the NY convention that was one of the stars of the meeting but did not get enough attention as the meeting came to a close in the late afternoon.  He will need to bring that one back.

All through the meeting we highly valued the interesting and expert opinions offered by Marsha and chapter chair, Kumiko Iwasawa,  to the attending members of our group.

LEGEND OF KINTARO/KINTOKI

(Japanese hero)

“Kin" means "gold". "Taro" is a very popular boy's name, meaning simply "boy".
Therefore, "Kintaro" can be translated as "Golden Boy".
　     In the 10th century, Kintoki Sakata was born in a small village near Mt. Kintoki and was called "Kintaro" in his boyhood.

As he grew up, Kintaro became a retainer to the famous Samurai (warrior) Yorimitsu Minamoto. He changed his name to Kintoki Sakata and long enjoyed a reputation in history as one of Yorimitsu's four strongest lieutenants.

            Excerpted from Japanese Mythology, Juliet Piggott, originally published ~1912:

Kintaro was known for his tremendous physical strength and loyalty. Kintaro’s mother was one of the mountain spirits known as Yama-uba. She has also been described as a mortal, devoted to her warrior husband who was wrongfully banished from court. As Yama-uba, she was the warrior’s mistress. Kintaro was a posthumous child and was brought up in a mountain retreat, with only his mother and animals as his companions. Apparently he was a beautiful child, with golden skin. He was, as a small boy, supernaturally strong to the extent of being able to uproot trees with only one hand.

To wrestle with a bear was merely an exercise, involving no danger for the child. Apart from his strength, Kintaro showed a certain wisdom in his childhood, for he used to adjudicate when his animal friends tussled together to test their strength, though there is no record of Kintaro being an onlooker of an animal fight to the death. His strength was eventually discovered and he was taken to the court at Kyoto where, it is believed, he eventually became a retainer of Yorimitsu  (also known as Raiko) an early leader of the Minamoto clan. Eventually Kintaro vindicated his father’s name and in manhood became a warrior too.

Excerpted from Traditional Themes in Japanese Art, Charles Temple, 2008:

            Kintaro (also Kaikomaru and Kintoki no Sakata)- legendary hero

            One of the most popular of Japanese folk heroes, Kintaro, the “golden youth,” is Japan’s equivalent of a young Hercules. The lovechild of a soldier and a titled lady of Kyoto, named Yaegiri, Kintaro was raised in a mountain retreat by either his own mother, or by a yama-uba (old woman of the mountain), a creature of a sometimes benevolent, sometimes demonic nature. The chief of a band of tengu (rough, belligerent half-human, half-bird beings) may have instructed the child-hero in martial matters. If he was the boy’s mentor, he would correspond in role to Chiron, the centaur-sage who instructed both Hercules and Achilles.

            From birth, Kintaro was strong of body. As a child he exerted his territorial rights with tengu, bears, monkeys, and any wild animals he encountered. One of his most noted feats was his successful struggle to subdue a giant carp that lived in a river just under an imposing waterfall. (Asahin Saboro and Benkei, two other Japanese heroes of great strength, also performed the same feat as boys).

            One day Minamoto no Yorimitsu (944-1021), also known as Raiko, was passing through the mountainous area where Kintaro lived. Raiko and the members of his entourage were astonished to see the golden youth uproot a tall tree and use it as a bridge to cross a turbulent river. On the spot, Raiko enlisted the boy into his service. Thereafter, Kintaro served his master well, joining him in the slaying of both Shutendoji (a monstrous creature whom the outcast Kidomaru served) and the Earth Spicer (another abominable denizen of the Japanese world of the unimaginable).