Posted 7 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
this is my new favorite piece of Imari. I think that the x's and o's around the base rim signify this as an Edo piece. the scene inside the bowl is really interesting - a woman chasing this demon child and smacking him, and the old man laughing and working alone in his studio or meditation hut?! any info appreciated - this bowl is 9 inches across.
i've been told that this is late 17th or early 18th century and it's the story of Setsubon - which is on Feb 3rd - the day the bowl arrived in the mail. huh!
i never tire of looking at this amazing bowl!
This is a very special bowl which celebrates Setsubun, which next year is on Feb. 3rd. The bowl was made sometime in the late 1700s thru around 1820. from Wikipedia: Setsubun (??) is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan.[1][2] The name literally means "seasonal division", but usually the term refers to the spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun (??) celebrated yearly on February 3 as part of the Spring Festival (?? haru matsuri).[3] In its association with the Lunar New Year, spring Setsubun can be and was previously thought of as a sort of New Year's Eve, and so was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (???, "bean scattering"). Setsubun has its origins in tsuina (??), a Chinese custom introduced to Japan in the eighth century.[2]