PROPERTY FROM THE TONY & JOHANNA OEY COLLECTION OF NETSUKE:
A WOOD NETSUKE OF TWO SUMO WRESTLERS
SIGNED MASATOSHI TO (NAKAMURA MASATOSHI, 1915-2001), TOKYO, MARCH 1976
Expressively carved as two grappling sumo wrestlers, one lifting the other by the arm from around his back, the details well defined
6 cm. high

Provenance:
Raymond Bushell

Literature:
Raymond Bushell and Masatoshi, The Art of Netsuke Carving, (Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, 1981), no. 133

Please note that this lot is the property of a private collector.

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

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Lot Essay

The pose depicted here refers to a classic bout between Kawazu and Matano that took place in 1176. Matano was about to lift Kawazu by his loincloth and throw him, but Kawazu outwitted him with a combined neck grip and leg trip, a move still known as kawazugake. The basic design of this group is shown in a set of netsuke designs by Katushika Hokusai’s pupil Isai (in the style of Hokusai’s Manga), published in Kacho sansui zushiki (1847-65, reprinted in 1881).¹

1 Joe Earle, Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture, (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2001), no. 163, p. 200