Five-case Seal Caddy (inrō)
Artist
Kajikawa et Shibayama, Ateliers de
Active in Japan early 17th-late 19th c.
Title
Five-case Seal Caddy (inrō)
Date
About 1850
Materials
Maki-e lacquer on wood, ivory inlay
Dimensions
24 x 6 x 2.3 cm
Credits
Adaline Van Horne Bequest, inv. 1944.Ee.10
Collection
Archeology and World Cultures
The back of this inrō is decorated with a portrait of the legendary poet-archer and palace guard Minamoto no Yorimasa, while the front shows Yorimasa’s retainer, Ino Hayata Tadazumi, slaying the nue monster. According to the epic novel The Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari), the nue, a bringer of misfortune and illness, prowled the imperial grounds, afflicting the health of the emperor Konoe (died 1153). One night, Yorimasa shot it down from the palace roof with his bow and arrow, whereupon Hayata slew it with his sword.
