Page 410 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

225 The radish design on this kyógen 227
Kataginu kyôgen costume with radish costume might be further explained Kataginu kyogen costume with waterfall
and mallet by the saying "ne ga haru," which has and cherry blossoms
two meanings: "the root sticks (or
Nineteenth century pushes) out" and "the sound spreads Nineteenth century
Paste-resist dyeing on plain-weave out," or reverberates. Daikon and Paste-resist dyeing and pigment on
hemp plain-weave hemp
turnips commonly decorate drums in
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74 x 68.2 (29Ysx 26 /s) hopes that good sounds will emanate 78.5X65.5 (30 /8X25 /4)
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3
Eisei Bunko Foundation, Tokyo Eisei Bunko Foundation, Tokyo
from the instrument, and the radish
here may similarly express the wish
• The oversized radish (daikon) and • Cherry blossoms, the quintessential
wooden mallet that crowd the back that the voice of the actor (that is, his Japanese symbol for spring, are
acting) will flourish. JTC/SST
of this kyógen robe are attributes of scattered across this kataginu. Thin
Daikokuten, one of the seven gods of vertical lines suggest a waterfall, or 409
good fortune. Originally a guardian 226 perhaps a spring rain that causes the
deity in the pantheon of esoteric Bud- Kataginu kyógen costume with oxcart demise of the blossoms. These lines
dhism, by the Edo period Daikokuten accentuate the illusion that the blos-
was widely revered by townspeople wheels and morning glories soms are falling into the foaming
as a bestower of wealth and happiness. Nineteenth century waves depicted at the hem. Cherry
Images of the deity were ubiquitous Ink and color on plain-weave hemp blossoms, beloved by the Japanese for
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in Edo visual culture. For example, 78.4 x 62.1 (3o /s x 2472) their transient beauty, were particu-
Daikokuten is the subject of a boldly Eisei Bunko Foundation, Tokyo larly favored by the samurai. SST
carved wood sculpture by Mokujiki
Byakudó (cat. 133) and is represented • Referring to ox-drawn carts that
in a parodie woodblock design by transported aristocrats during the
Harunobu in which the corpulent Heian period, motifs like those seen
male deity is transformed into a svelte on this kataginu were first used in
young woman (cat. 247). Although the late Heian period. Often called
neither the sculpture nor the print the Genji wheel, in reference to the
follow traditional iconography, prince in the Tale of Genji, this pattern
and the kyogen robe seen here does became popular during the Muro-
not explicitly portray the god, the machi period. Wheels were sometimes
presence of the radish and mallet depicted half submerged, reflecting
motifs in each of these works in vary- the practice of periodically placing
ing media confirms the allusion to them in water to prevent the wood
Daikokuten. Similarly, the two-legged from drying out and warping. Such
radish (futamata daikon), a good motifs can be found on the garment
luck symbol, was often featured in worn by a laborer depicted in the
Edo-period images of Daikokuten. early fourteenth-century scrolls
Miracles of the Deities o/Kasuga Shrine
(Kasuga Gongen reigen-ki).
The diagonal placement of the two
partial wheels on the back of this
kataginu is accentuated by the deli-
cate line of the morning glory tendril
that connects them. This unusual
depiction of wheels entwined with
vines suggests disuse and decay. SST