RYUMIN: A WOOD NETSUKE OF HANASAKA-JIJI WITH A BASKET OF ASHES

By Ryumin, signed Ryumin 龍珉
Japan, second half of the 19^th century

Hanasaka Jiji, the kind farmer, seated on his resurrected tree stump with inlaid buds, in his hands a basket of ashes which he scatters around bringing the cherry blossoms to bloom. The cherry blossom sprigs inlaid in bone with the stems stained green. Asymmetrical himotoshi to the underside and signed on an inlaid tablet RYUMIN.

LENGTH 3.8 cm

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, some losses to inlays.
Provenance: From the private collection of Armand Basi. A copy of the collector’s notes, no. 1002, accompanies this lot. Armand Basi (1924-2009) was a Spanish businessman and fashion designer, co-founder of the fashion firm bearing his name. He was a Japanese art enthusiast and amassed a large collection of netsuke in his lifetime. In 1948, along with his brother Josep, Armand Basi founded a small knitting company inspired by their mother Mercé Sabi's knitted sweaters. By the end of the 1950s the business had expanded into a large textiles company, opening a factory on Balcells Street in Barcelona in 1958. In 1961–62, the Basis signed an exclusive contract with Lacoste to manufacture and distribute Lacoste products in Spain. In 1986, Basi launched his eponymous fashion brand, which produced accessories, perfume, jewelry and watches, as well as clothing in more than 400 stores across Spain, Europe, North America and Asia.

Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related wood netsuke of Hanasaka Jiji with a basket of ashes, by Ryumin, in the collection of Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, serial number N-67.

The popular folktale goes as follows: There was once an old couple, Hanasaka Jiji and his wife, who had a dog named Shiro and particularly nasty neighbors. One day Shiro began sniffing and barking at a certain spot and when Hanasaka dug up the spot a large number of coins came up. The greedy neighbors watched and took the dog by force to their own garden. However, the spot at which the dog sniffed was filled with only filth and the neighbors killed the poor dog and buried it under a pine tree. The old man Hanasaka Jiji, much grieved, offered sacrifice upon the spot and the dog’s ghost appeared and commanded him to cut down the tree to make a rice mortar out of its trunk, which changed the rice into gold. The neighbors managed to borrow the mortar, however for them the rice turned only into filth and they burned the mortar. The dog appeared to Hanasaka once more and told him to retrieve the ashes from his neighbors and scatter them over dead trees, which miraculously began sprouting. Hanasaka became famous across the country, his fame even reaching the Daimyo of a neighboring province, who tested his powers and loaded him with treasures. The neighbor tried to do the same, but the ashes blew into the Daimyo's eyes, so he threw him into prison.