Antique Japanese Wood Netsuke Funayurei Ship Ladle Ghost Yurei Yokai Japan
For sale:
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Type: Katabori (Sculptural) Netsuke
Material: Wood
Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)
Origin/Maker: Japan. Unsigned.
Size: 3.2" tall (8 cm)
Weight: 0.5 oz (15 g)
Provenance:
Present: Ryan Snooks collection of Japanese & Asian Decorative Art
Previous: Robyn Buntin
Collected: Robyn Buntin of Honolulu Gallery, 12 DEC 2021, Honolulu, Hawaii. I was his first customer at his new location in Chinatown!
Condition: Item is used in good condition commensurate with age, see photos. Some light surface wear and dents.
Subject: Funayūrei, a yurei (vengeful ghost) that appears to people in boats, and slowly fills their boats with water using it's ladle, causing the boat to sink, and the passengers to join the ghosts. Note the lack of feet (rather, there is a curling upward of the robe), a feature of Japanese ghosts.
From Wikipedia:
Funayūrei are ghosts believed to use hishaku (ladles) to fill boats with water and make them sink. They are said to be the remnants of people who have died in shipwrecks and are attempting to cause humans to join them.[1] According to legends, there are various methods that can be used to protect from the harm they inflict, such as throwing onigiri into the sea or preparing a hishaku with its bottom missing. They're also called mōjabune (亡者船), bōko, or ayakashi depending on the region.[2] Umibōzu, colossal giants encountered far out at sea, are sometimes considered to be a type of funayūrei rather than a type of yōkai.[3]
Their appearance as depicted in legends varies widely depending on the area. There are stories that speak of ghosts that appear above water, of boats that are themselves ghosts (ghost ships), of ghosts that appear on human-occupied ships, or of any combination of the above. They are described as appearing like umibōzu or as an atmospheric ghost light.[1][2] There are many legends of funayūrei at sea, but they have also been described as appearing in rivers, lakes, and swamps of inland areas.[1] In Kōchi Prefecture, the kechibi, a type of onibi, is also sometimes seen as being a type of funayūrei.[4]
They often appear in rainy days, nights on a new or full moon,[5] stormy nights, and foggy nights.[1] When it appears as a boat, the funayūrei itself glows with light, so that it is possible to confirm its appearance even at night.[5] Also, on the sixteenth day of Bon, the dead would attempt to approach the side of the ship and sink it. They are also said to appear on very foggy evenings, and attempt to capsize ships by making a cliff or a boat without a pulley appear, since getting startled and attempting to avoid it would result in capsizing and getting stranded on a reef. It is said that these illusions can be made to disappear by sailing though them.[2]
Other than attempting to sink ships, in the town of Ōtsuki, Hata District Kochi Prefecture, they are said to make the boat's compass malfunction,[6] and in the Toyoma Prefecture, fishing boats that travel to Hokkaido get turned into a funayurei, causing the crew to hang themselves.[7] In Ehime Prefecture, when one encounters a funayurei, trying to avoid it by changing the boat's route, will run the boat aground.[8][9] Also, in the past, to avoid shipwrecks during bad weather, people would light a bonfire on land. However, a funayurei would light a fire on open sea and mislead the boatmen, and by approaching the fire, they would get eaten by the sea and drown.[10]
There are also various legends about how to drive away funayurei depending on the area. For example, in the Miyagi Prefecture, when a funayurei appears, they would disappear if one stops the ship and stares fixedly at the funayurei for a while.[11] Stirring up the water with a stick is also said to work.[11] There are also theories that vary from place to place about throwing thing into the sea to avoid them. In Kōzu-shima, it would be flowers and incense, incense sticks, dango, washed rice, and water,[12] in Kochi Prefecture, it would be ashes and 49 rice cakes,[11] in Otsuki, Kochi, it would be summer beans,[13] and in Nagasaki Prefecture, it would be woven mats, ashes, and burnt firewood.[14] Also, in Kochi Prefecture, it is said to be possible to drive funayurei by saying "I am Dozaemon (わしは土左衛門だ)" and asserting to be one of the funayurei.[4] In Ehime, one is able to disperse the funayurei by lighting a match and throwing it.[9]
Location:
Antique Japanese Wood Netsuke Funayurei Ship Ladle Ghost Yurei Yokai Japan
www.ebay.com/sch/xcoasterxtreme/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&rt=nc&LH_Auction=1
See also:
Type: Katabori (Sculptural) Netsuke
Material: Wood
Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)
Origin/Maker: Japan. Unsigned.
Size: 3.2" tall (8 cm)
Weight: 0.5 oz (15 g)
Provenance:
Present: Ryan Snooks collection of Japanese & Asian Decorative Art
Previous: Robyn Buntin
Collected: Robyn Buntin of Honolulu Gallery, 12 DEC 2021, Honolulu, Hawaii. I was his first customer at his new location in Chinatown!
Condition: Item is used in good condition commensurate with age, see photos. Some light surface wear and dents.
Subject: Funayūrei, a yurei (vengeful ghost) that appears to people in boats, and slowly fills their boats with water using it's ladle, causing the boat to sink, and the passengers to join the ghosts. Note the lack of feet (rather, there is a curling upward of the robe), a feature of Japanese ghosts.
From Wikipedia:
Funayūrei are ghosts believed to use hishaku (ladles) to fill boats with water and make them sink. They are said to be the remnants of people who have died in shipwrecks and are attempting to cause humans to join them.[1] According to legends, there are various methods that can be used to protect from the harm they inflict, such as throwing onigiri into the sea or preparing a hishaku with its bottom missing. They're also called mōjabune (亡者船), bōko, or ayakashi depending on the region.[2] Umibōzu, colossal giants encountered far out at sea, are sometimes considered to be a type of funayūrei rather than a type of yōkai.[3]
Their appearance as depicted in legends varies widely depending on the area. There are stories that speak of ghosts that appear above water, of boats that are themselves ghosts (ghost ships), of ghosts that appear on human-occupied ships, or of any combination of the above. They are described as appearing like umibōzu or as an atmospheric ghost light.[1][2] There are many legends of funayūrei at sea, but they have also been described as appearing in rivers, lakes, and swamps of inland areas.[1] In Kōchi Prefecture, the kechibi, a type of onibi, is also sometimes seen as being a type of funayūrei.[4]
They often appear in rainy days, nights on a new or full moon,[5] stormy nights, and foggy nights.[1] When it appears as a boat, the funayūrei itself glows with light, so that it is possible to confirm its appearance even at night.[5] Also, on the sixteenth day of Bon, the dead would attempt to approach the side of the ship and sink it. They are also said to appear on very foggy evenings, and attempt to capsize ships by making a cliff or a boat without a pulley appear, since getting startled and attempting to avoid it would result in capsizing and getting stranded on a reef. It is said that these illusions can be made to disappear by sailing though them.[2]
Other than attempting to sink ships, in the town of Ōtsuki, Hata District Kochi Prefecture, they are said to make the boat's compass malfunction,[6] and in the Toyoma Prefecture, fishing boats that travel to Hokkaido get turned into a funayurei, causing the crew to hang themselves.[7] In Ehime Prefecture, when one encounters a funayurei, trying to avoid it by changing the boat's route, will run the boat aground.[8][9] Also, in the past, to avoid shipwrecks during bad weather, people would light a bonfire on land. However, a funayurei would light a fire on open sea and mislead the boatmen, and by approaching the fire, they would get eaten by the sea and drown.[10]
There are also various legends about how to drive away funayurei depending on the area. For example, in the Miyagi Prefecture, when a funayurei appears, they would disappear if one stops the ship and stares fixedly at the funayurei for a while.[11] Stirring up the water with a stick is also said to work.[11] There are also theories that vary from place to place about throwing thing into the sea to avoid them. In Kōzu-shima, it would be flowers and incense, incense sticks, dango, washed rice, and water,[12] in Kochi Prefecture, it would be ashes and 49 rice cakes,[11] in Otsuki, Kochi, it would be summer beans,[13] and in Nagasaki Prefecture, it would be woven mats, ashes, and burnt firewood.[14] Also, in Kochi Prefecture, it is said to be possible to drive funayurei by saying "I am Dozaemon (わしは土左衛門だ)" and asserting to be one of the funayurei.[4] In Ehime, one is able to disperse the funayurei by lighting a match and throwing it.[9]
Location:
Antique Japanese Wood Netsuke Funayurei Ship Ladle Ghost Yurei Yokai Japan
