Uzume,
the Shinto deity of laughter, is more popularly known as Okame, the goddess of
fertility. In Japanese legend, it was Okame's comical dance that coaxed the sun
goddess Amaterasu out of the cave where she was hiding, and bought sunlight back
to the world.
This
attractive netsuke of Okame smiling merrily, carrying on her back an enormous
mask of her own image. A delightful rendition reveals both the carver's sense
of humor, and his conceptual insight into the persona of the goddess. The netsuke
is carved in round, arranged in an effectively compact composition, and detailed
with deeply carved eyes, teeth, and headdress, with ultra-fine polychrome scrimshaw
works which meticulously filled the figure, which in contrast distill the beauty
on the mask of Okame, where a smooth finishing has accentuate the quality ivory
with pronounced grains.
On
the basis of concept and artisanship, the carver of this netsuke is a first rank
artist. Stylistically, the netsuke may be attributed to the Tokyo school in the
late 19th century. However, the formal kenji signature "Yoshimasa", along with
his rare output are an inexplicable mystery. It may be that he was one of the
many carvers who frequently changed his art name.
