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Source Description
The kashira on the end shows a rain dragon wrapped around a sword. This iconography is associated with the Buddhist figure Kôbô Daishi (also known as Kûkai; 774-834) who was said to have used such a sword to bring rain at the end of a drought. One menuki is in the shape of the Taoist immortal Chokaro (Ch. Zhang Guo [Chang Kuo]) holding a gourd. The other is in the shape of two mules. Chokaro had a magic mule he kept in a gourd until he needed it. The mule could carry Chokaro for thousands of miles and did not need to be fed. This is part of a mounted set.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
79252
label
Tsuka with Dragon, Chokaro, and Mules
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
79252
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Tsuka with Dragon, Chokaro, and Mules
description
The kashira on the end shows a rain dragon wrapped around a sword. This iconography is associated with the Buddhist figure Kôbô Daishi (also known as Kûkai; 774-834) who was said to have used such a sword to bring rain at the end of a drought. One menuki is in the shape of the Taoist immortal Chokaro (Ch. Zhang Guo [Chang Kuo]) holding a gourd. The other is in the shape of two mules. Chokaro had a magic mule he kept in a gourd until he needed it. The mule could carry Chokaro for thousands of miles and did not need to be fed. This is part of a mounted set.
provenance
William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
18th-19th century (Edo)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
tsuka
menuki
kashira
sword components
handles
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensionsRaw
L: 6 5/8 in. (16.9 cm)
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
none
med
red-brown lacquer, ray skin, gold
creator_ids
6194
collection_ids
JMA
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
adce820d3a03adcd
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
f7cc3371fdc9ed36
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
d248bcb21b6e2488
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no