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Source Description
On a cloud at the upper right stands the demon queller Shôki. He is dressed in Chinese-style armor. The cloud continues below the central opening of the tsuba to where a demon runs away from Shôki. This motif continues on the reverse of the tsuba where two more demons are shown fleeing. The reverse was over cleaned at some point in the tsuba's history resulting in a loss in detail. The legend of Shôki originated in China. Shôki was an aspiring scholar in China who committed suicide when he failed the examinations to become a government official. The emperor, when he realized the degree of Shôki's commitment to service, awarded him the title of doctor. Shôki then appeared to the emperor in a dream where he vowed to protect the empire from demons to show his gratitude. As one might expect on a sword fitting, Shôki is depicted as a fierce and devoted warrior quelling three demons.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
25926
label
Tsuba with Shôki the Demon Queller Chasing Demons
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
25926
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with Shôki the Demon Queller Chasing Demons
description
On a cloud at the upper right stands the demon queller Shôki. He is dressed in Chinese-style armor. The cloud continues below the central opening of the tsuba to where a demon runs away from Shôki. This motif continues on the reverse of the tsuba where two more demons are shown fleeing. The reverse was over cleaned at some point in the tsuba's history resulting in a loss in detail. The legend of Shôki originated in China. Shôki was an aspiring scholar in China who committed suicide when he failed the examinations to become a government official. The emperor, when he realized the degree of Shôki's commitment to service, awarded him the title of doctor. Shôki then appeared to the emperor in a dream where he vowed to protect the empire from demons to show his gratitude. As one might expect on a sword fitting, Shôki is depicted as a fierce and devoted warrior quelling three demons.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1819-1880 (late Edo-Meiji)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsubas
sword components
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.9
height
6.8
depth
0.5
dimensionsRaw
at indent: 3 1/8 x 2 11/16 x 3/16 in. (7.9 x 6.75 x 0.45 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
[Signature] 安親; [Translation] Yasuchika; [Transcription] 於武江袖止浦辺作之; [Transliteration] Ni oite Bukô sodetome urabe saku kore o; [Translation] This was made at Edo in Bushû on the coast for a coming-of-age ceremony
med
shakudo, copper, shibuichi, gold, silver
creator_ids
6787
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
61d41b1fc7524ff3
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
2c9a2fa8c342a467
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
35957a73f46ca8a5
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
c3fb52e88a722be7
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no