Description
Ivory netsuke depicting a character with a large hat on his head, a pot of oil between hands.
According to legend, Tada-mori was a very clever Japanese general favorite of the Emperor Shirakawa. One evening, when he accompanied the emperor in the pouring rain, a passerby ran to them to say that a demonic monster spitting flemmes was near the Great Temple Gion-ji. Tada-mori listening only to his courage, rushed to the devil, who soon appeared, hair bristling and flames coming out of his head. He grabbed him from behind, but realized that he was in fact an innocent serving a temple, with a grass coat on the back and a big straw hat on his head. He was doing his usual rounds to fill votive lanterns with oil. Tada-mori made his apologies and the story became a popular topic netsuke for carvers.
Period
End of Edo
