A JAPANESE IVORY NETSUKE EDO 1603-1868 Carved as Tadamori and the oil thief Abura Bozu

A JAPANESE IVORY NETSUKE

EDO 1603-1868

Carved as Tadamori and the oil thief Abura Bozu, the hero depicted wearing an eboshi hat and grabbing the felon by the collar of its cloak, Abura Bozu holding a large ewer in his right hand and with a straw hat, unsigned, 5.2cm.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Acc. no.10.211.1116 for a closely related netsuke of Tadamori and the oil thief, possibly by the same hand.

Taira no Tadamori (1096-1153) was a samurai from the Taira clan and member of the Kebiishi (Imperial police force). He is famed for his exploits while fighting Korean pirates and for apprehending the oil thief of the Yasaka no Yashiro temple.