Netsuke

Netsuke voorstellend Tokiwa Gozen (born 1135), the concubine of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, standing in travelling attire, a hat and walking-stick in her hands. Belongs apparently to a small group of netsuke of simililar execution and material, all in the Siebold Collection, representing a Chinese (?) man standing by a large cask (1-2673), a seated man with a bowl in his hands (1-2675) and a man throwing beans at Setsubun (1-2678). The netsuke features rather poor carving and execution. Verzameld door Ph.F. von Siebold, waarschijnlijk in of in de nabijheid van Nagasaki. For other representations of Tokiwa Gozen in the RMV Collection, cf. a preparatory sketch by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (3513-362) The episode depicted is her flight from the Taira troops when these besieged the Minamoto castle after defeating Yoshitomo. She then took her three children with her and escaped through the snow to a safe place.