Handled Mirror with a Design of Tapir and Nandin Plants
- Person
-
作者藤原金次
- Date
-
制作年 AD18
- Title
- バクナンテンズエカガミ
- Materials, techniques and shape
- 銅
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Keio Museum Commons Campus Mita
The tapir is a mammal of Malaysia and Central and South America, but as depicted in this and other mirrors, a tapir (Jap. baku) is an imaginary Chinese creature with an elephant’s trunk, rhinoceros’s eyes, an ox tail, and tiger’s feet. Chinese people thought of their imaginary tapir to ward off evil spirits, but in Japan, this animal was believed to feed on people’s nightmares. As such, there was a practice of placing its painting under the pillow before going to bed. As for the nandin, also depicted in this mirror, it was and still is considered quite auspicious in Japan. Nandin is pronounced “nanten” in Japanese and alliterates with “nan wo tenjiru,” meaning “avert trouble.” The combination of nandin and tapir, therefore, is quite fortuitous.
Overview
Rights
Depository and ID
Components
OPEN DATADESIGN
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Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Handled Mirror with a Design of Tapir and Nandin Plants
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1面
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