Goldfish-shaped incense holder (Early Qing Dynasty)
This time it’s an antique related to goldfish. I don’t think it’s because I’m serializing “Words and Antiques” in General web magazine “Bungaku Kingyo”, but I’ve written about goldfish artworks twice so far. They are “Edo Glass Goldfish Balls” and ” Aaron Scythe Ceramic Exhibition ” Bungaku Kingyo”. I guess I like goldfish. I don’t know why.
In Japan, goldfish are associated with goldfish scooping at festivals. People scoop up the small red goldfish and place them in a plastic bag to take home, but they often die within a few days. The main reason for this is that the goldfish at festivals are weakened by being poked and chased by many people. On top of that, they are hungry. Before shipping them out to festivals, the amount of food they eat is reduced to prevent the water from becoming muddy, and to reduce the amount of feces.
Even if you bring home a goldfish that seems relatively healthy, you often end up letting it die because you don’t know how to take care of it. However, if you put it in a proper aquarium and feed it the right amount, it will live quite a long time. I didn’t count, but a goldfish I scooped up at a festival when I was a child lived in an old brazier for five years. Some of them grew from seven or eight centimeters to about 15 centimeters. By the way, I’ve also scooped up chick. It grew quickly and became chicken. It was a problem because it screamed “cock-a-doodle-doo” in their birdcage in the garden every morning. But it was male.
As usual, goldfish were brought to Japan from China. In their native China, goldfish patterns are considered auspicious motifs. It is well known that goldfish are included in the Eight Treasures (Eight Auspicious Symbols) of Tibetan Buddhism, along with lotus flowers. In China, there is an event to celebrate the new year at New Year’s Day, where paintings called New Year Pictures are hung on the walls as a talisman against evil, and paintings of goldfish are also popular. In Chinese, goldfish are called chin’yui, which is pronounced the same as Having extra money, making them the perfect lucky charm. Goldfish patterns are popular because they are bright, lively, and energetic, and are likely to bring good fortune in fertility and money.
Goldfish have been around for a long time. According to one theory, the first written mention of goldfish was in the Natural History by Zhang Hua (232-300), a politician and man of letters from the Wei to Western Jin dynasties during the Three Kingdoms period. This means that goldfish have existed for 1,700 years. There are objections to this, but there are records of goldfish ponds in the Northern Song dynasty, so there is no doubt that goldfish have a history of over 1,000 years.
Roughly speaking, goldfish originated when a crucian carp that lived in the Yangtze River basin in southern China mutated into the scarlet crucian carp. The goldfish we see today were developed by selective breeding of this scarlet crucian carp. This means that the ancestors of goldfish are crucian carp. This is also supported by DNA research.
However, no matter how many crucian carp you keep, or how you try to devise a method to do so, they will not turn into goldfish. They do not mutate. This has been proven through numerous experiments. It seems to be an objective fact that the species “goldfish” mutated from crucian carp to scarlet crucian carp to goldfish, and has continued to do so to this day. Basically, they are weak fish that cannot survive in the wild, but they are a domestic fish that has an incredibly long history and has been loved for a long time.
There are 31 certified varieties of goldfish native to Japan, and it is said that there are more than 100 varieties including those from overseas. These goldfish varieties are also the result of crossbreeding over a long period of time. Even if a goldfish with a unique color or shape is born, it does not necessarily mean that it will be fertile. However, there are many mysteries surrounding goldfish breeding.
Goldfish are a hobby fish and academic research was not done until modern times. There was a joke that if you put a goldfish in a drum, put the lid on it, make it completely dark, and then hit the side of it with a stick, it will turn into a black Demekin. It’s probably a lie, but no one really knows how a goldfish with an unusual shape like Demekin was created.
Goldfish-shaped incense holder
Early Qing Dynasty, first half of the 17th century, length 6 x width 4.2 x height 5 cm (all maximum values)
Same upper back
Same lower front and back
The first antique I’d like to introduce this time is a Chinese Goldfish-shaped incense holder. It looks like a swimmer leaning forward about to dive into the water. It’s cute and a little silly. It’s in an old-looking box, and the label on it says “Nanjing Goldfish-shaped incense holder.” In the Japanese world of antiques, “Nanjing ” refers to pottery from the early Qing dynasty. It’s in line with the era.
During the turbulent period from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, Jingdezhen, the home of pottery, lost its biggest customer. The imperial court was its biggest customer. Therefore, Jingdezhen (and not only Jingdezhen) sought a way out through overseas trade. These include pottery called Kosometsuke, which has been introduced to Japan in large quantities. Most of these were ordered by Japanese tea masters. The most distinctive features are the thick porcelain body, which is hard to believe is porcelain, and the chipped (peeling) glaze on the edges of the plates and serving dishes. Tea masters called this “mushi-kui” (worm-eaten) and highly prized it. In China, the highest quality pottery is perfect in color, shape, painting, and firing, but this is typical of Japanese tea masters, who prefer pottery to porcelain and dislike perfection. At first, Jingdezhen’s pottery technology had declined, and the combination of the pottery body (clay) and the glaze was poor, so the glaze happened to peel off by chance. Japanese tea masters were happy about this and deliberately had pottery with the chipped glaze made.
The Goldfish-shaped incense holder has no peeling glaze. It has a neat shape and is well glazed. This also tells us that it was not made in the late Ming but in the early Qing dynasty when the kilns were stable. In Japan, it was used in the early Edo period. Incidentally, the Chinese porcelain that was imported in large quantities in the late Edo period is called “Sinsometsuke (New blue and white porcelain) .” After this ” Sinsometsuke ” was introduced, sometsuke from the late Ming period came to be called “Kosometsuke (Old blue and white porcelain).” Here are some tips on Japanese antique terminology.
This Goldfish-shaped incense holder is also one of the tea ceremony utensils. It is a container for holding incense wood to be burned at the tea ceremony. It is also a decoration that adds color to the tea ceremony. However, when I first saw it, I thought it looked like a goldfish, but I wasn’t sure, so I asked the antique dealer.
“The fact that it’s blue is fine, but what proof do you have that this incense holder is a goldfish?”
“Ah, the tail and dorsal fin. Especially the dorsal fin.”
“Could you tell me more?”
“Goldfish are the only fish that don’t have dorsal fins. This is a Ranchu.”
“I see.”
Now that I think about it, that’s true; Ranchu have no dorsal fin. The antique dealer apparently purchased the incense holder from a goldfish collector, and there was another small old Imari (Ko-Imari) plate he had bought from the same collector. It was for sale so I didn’t take a photo, but it is about seven centimeters in diameter and has a goldfish painted in blue and white on the inside. It was about twice as expensive as the Goldfish-shaped incense holder. As an object, the Goldfish-shaped incense holder looked more attractive, so I was suspicious. So I asked another question.
“Why is this Ko-Imari more expensive? I’ve seen Ko-Imari with goldfish patterns before.”
“Oh, that’s a rough Imari from after the Meiji period. Ko-Imari with goldfish patterns that is definitely from the Edo period is rare.”
“Really?”
“And look closely, this Ko-Imari painting is also a Ranchu. Ko-Imari from the Edo period with Ranchu painted on it is very rare.”
“Really, I see.”
The antique dealer continued to talk about goldfish. We have known each other for over thirty years, but I had no idea he liked goldfish so much. It was a new discovery for me. Anyway, as the antique dealer talked, I remembered that I had bought an old Imari plate with a goldfish design a long time ago and used it for everyday use.
Old Imari Ranchu design plate
Edo period, around the Tenpo era, first half of the 19th century, diameter 21.6 x height 3.3 cm
Same back
When I got home and immediately took the goldfish plate out of the cupboard, it was indeed a Ranchu goldfish. It had no dorsal fin. I had thought it was a strange goldfish. When I showed it to an antique dealer, he said, “It’s very rare. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” so I gave up on using it as a salmon fillet or croquette plate and instead found a suitable box to put it away in. Even though it’s rare, it doesn’t mean the price will increase dramatically, but that can’t be helped. One day it will go to someone else, so I have to take good care of it until then. There are people who really want these kinds of things, after all.
However, the shape of the Ranchu is different from the ones I know. When I persistently asked the antique dealer, he gave me a clear answer: “This is an Osaka Ranchu. Ranchu from the Edo period didn’t have a bulging head like today’s.” There are many different types of antique dealers, but a good one is one that answers honestly even when you bombard him with questions.
Upon investigation, it appears that Ranchu existed in Japan in the mid-Edo period, and was especially popular in Osaka, so it is still called Osaka Ranchu today. It was at the end of the Edo period that Ranchu with a large lump on its head, which is called “lion’s head” in the goldfish industry, appeared. It seems that this lump was brought to the head by a crossbreed that enlarged the dorsal fin.
[Reference image] Blue and white boat-shaped plate with goldfish motif
Nabeshima clan kiln, mid-Edo period (1790s-1820s), porcelain, 12.4cm length x 21.8cm width x 4.6cm height, 26 pieces
A search on the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Heritage Online site turned up a Nabeshima ware boat-shaped plate with a blue and white goldfish motif. As Nabeshima ware was produced at a kiln dedicated to the Shogun family, the quality of the products is high, and along with Kokutani and Kakiemon, it is the most expensive of the Ko-Imari wares. The explanation states, “According to the record from the time of the eighth Lord Nabeshima Harushige, we can see that this design corresponds to the ‘Boat-shaped Plate with a Goldfish Design,’ one of the twelve types of pottery ordered by the Shogun family in 1774 (the third year of the Anei era).” Although it is not as precise as the Nabeshima of its heyday, it is a standard work that indicates the date of production. The pattern on this boat-shaped plate also features a Osaka Ranchu.
When you go to a ceramics museum, the designs of Ko-Imari ware seem endless. However, in reality, 90% of them are abstract designs such as octopus arabesque, flower arabesque, ice crack pattern, flowers, landscapes, etc. This is natural, since they were made as practical tableware. The types of animal paintings are limited. Birds include cranes, peacocks, quails, plovers, herons, and phoenixes, and mammals include tigers, giraffe, deer, lions, elephants, rabbits, squirrels, and dragons (although they are imaginary creatures). People include arhats, hermits, Hotei, Chinese children, Dutch people, women (beauties), sumo wrestlers, and fish include carp, sweetfish, and sea bream. Of course, anything goes in Ko-Imari painting, and there are unusual designs, but I looked through the catalog of the Shibata Couple Collection, Japan’s largest Ko-Imari collection, but I couldn’t find any goldfish designs. Antiques are a world of thorough databases, but there are many things you can’t understand unless you are told about them.
The most widely accepted theory is that goldfish were introduced to Japan in 1502 (Bunki 2) during the mid-Muromachi period. The source of this is the first goldfish-raising manual in Japan, Sodategusa, written by Adachi Yoshiyuki and a long-selling book in the Edo period, which states, “According to an old man, goldfish first arrived at Sakai-no-tsu in Senshu on January 20, 1502, during the Emperor Gokashiwabara-in.” This is a vague hearsay and there are objections, but if goldfish were not imported around this time, it would not make sense with subsequent goldfish-related documents. It is likely that rare goldfish were imported in large quantities during the heyday of Nanban trade, when guns were introduced to Tanegashima and Francis Xavier came to Japan. In fact, it seems that goldfish were imported in large quantities around 1502, and that they had been imported in small quantities before that.
From the Onin War at the end of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku period, goldfish were not an issue, but during the Genroku period, the first period of peace in the Edo period, documents related to goldfish suddenly increased. Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi is known for his wicked government with the Edict for Compassionate Treatment of Living Things, and he included goldfish among the creatures that should be protected. Asahi Bunzaemon Shigeaki’s “Oumu Rou Cyuki ” records that Tsunayoshi confiscated 7,000 goldfish from all over the city of Edo and released them into the pond of the monk Yugyo in Fujisawa. However, this was only a temporary policy, and by the late Edo period, goldfish had become a major form of entertainment for townspeople, alongside raising morning glories.
[Reference image] “Playing with Goldfish” by Kitagawa Utamaro
Edo period, 18th century, large-format, Nishiki-e, length 37.9 x 25.2 cm
This is the famous ukiyo-e print “Playing with Goldfish” by Kitagawa Utamaro. Two townspeople’s daughters are playing with and gazing fascinated at goldfish. The standing girl is holding a goldfish ball in her hand. We can see that glass goldfish balls were widespread in the late Edo period. Utamaro’s “Playing with Goldfish” has a peaceful and elegant atmosphere. This impression is accurate, as goldfish were still expensive in the late -Edo period.
[Reference image] “Kingyo Zukushi – Sarai Tonbi” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Edo period, 19th century, medium-sized nishiki-e, 25.7cm long x 18.5cm wide
This is also the well-known “Kingyo Zukushi – Sarai Tonbi” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. By the time Kuniyoshi was in the late Edo period, goldfish had become a very familiar pet fish. “Sarai Tonbi” means “a kite that stealing” and the painting shows a kite stealing a fried tofu and flying away. The goldfish look on with their bodies stretched out as if saying “Wait, wait.” The goldfish are personified. It is a humorous painting that seems to have anticipated manga. Antiques are the consciousness and unconsciousness of each era that remain in the form of objects, so by looking at the evolution of these objects, you can see the changes of the times clearly.
Kabuki and Sumo were the greatest pleasures for the common people of Edo, but growing chrysanthemums and morning glories, and raising goldfish were also modest pleasures. The chrysanthemums are still known for their presence in the Bunkyo Chrysanthemum Festival at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine. Morning glories have long been known for their presence in the Iriya Morning Glory Festival, and goldfish have long been known for their presence in the goldfish scooping events held at festivals.
“Goldfish”
Artist unknown, Taisho to early Showa period (?), color on silk, 46cm long x 55cm wide
I probably won’t be writing about goldfish any more, so I’ll take this opportunity to introduce one more goldfish-related antique that I own. It’s a Japanese painting on silk, with a signature and stamp of “Kei(?) Kou,” but the artist is unknown. From the degree of fading of the silk, we can guess that it was made sometime between the Taisho and early Showa periods. It uses the Rinpa school’s Tarashikomi technique, so I think it’s safe to say it was made by a Japanese painter. I bought it a long time ago, when I was collecting cheap paintings that I liked. It’s a fairly large and impressive Japanese painting.
Until the middle of the Showa period, many Japanese homes had a tokonoma alcove. If you have a tokonoma, you need to hang a scroll on it, so for that reason, countless counterfeits of famous artists, including Sesshu, were made. If they were well made, they would be sold as genuine works, but most were just copies and not particularly malicious.
This “Goldfish” picture is not a copy of a famous painting, but it is probably a hanging scroll for summer. In haiku, the seasonal word for goldfish is summer. In Edo, the cries of goldfish sellers’ voices were a symbol of summer. Summer in Japan is as muggy as it was in the past. Air conditioners were not widespread until modern times, so people hung paintings like this “Goldfish” picture to cool down.
Algae flowers, Iyo blinds hanging over goldfish
Takrai Kikaku
The goldfish in the goldfish ball surprised by the autumn this morning
Yosa Buson
The portrait of the deceased has its own time, the goldfish ball
Hata Yumi
There are many haiku about goldfish from the time of Matsuo Basho school. Yumi Hata’s haiku is a masterpiece, but it was created after the goldfish ball had become a relic of the distant past.
Yuji Tsuruyama
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