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Source Description
The scene depicted is from a story about the bell at the temple Dôjôji. On right are two monks with prayer beads in the act of praying. At the left, the large bell of the temple is shown fallen from its tower. A jealous woman transformed into a dragon while chasing a monk she thought had promised to marry her. The monks of Dôjôji hid the monk in the bell tower. The bell fell, trapping him under it. The woman, in her dragon form, coiled her body around the bell and breathed flames on it. This killed the monk trapped inside. The story is retold in noh and kabuki plays of the same name. In the plays, a dancer comes to the temple to celebrate the installation of a new bell. She dances under the bell and when it falls on her is transformed into the dragon. A pine tree and stream are shown on the reverse.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
4125
label
Tsuba with the Bell of Dôjôji
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
4125
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuba with the Bell of Dôjôji
description
The scene depicted is from a story about the bell at the temple Dôjôji. On right are two monks with prayer beads in the act of praying. At the left, the large bell of the temple is shown fallen from its tower. A jealous woman transformed into a dragon while chasing a monk she thought had promised to marry her. The monks of Dôjôji hid the monk in the bell tower. The bell fell, trapping him under it. The woman, in her dragon form, coiled her body around the bell and breathed flames on it. This killed the monk trapped inside. The story is retold in noh and kabuki plays of the same name. In the plays, a dancer comes to the temple to celebrate the installation of a new bell. She dances under the bell and when it falls on her is transformed into the dragon. A pine tree and stream are shown on the reverse.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
late 18th century (Edo)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsubas
sword components
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.1
height
6.6
depth
0.5
dimensionsRaw
2 13/16 x 2 5/8 x 3/16 in. (7.13 x 6.64 x 0.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
style
Nara School
inscriptions
[Signature] 常重; [Translation] Tsuneshige
med
sentoku
creator_ids
5332
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
5f72753d3bf578bf
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
eaadd428428c8216
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
3d880c78c7087187
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no