Netsuke made of stained bone or ivory, carved in the form of a study of a pillar and three priests. Two priests are holding the section of pillar while a third priest is lying horizontally through a hole, rectangular in section, in the pillar, his head protruding and his face upwards. His upturned feet prevent him from falling out through the hole. On the side of the pillar there are five characters forming two phrases, one the maker's name (Nanko) and the other is 'pillar of the great Buddha'.
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
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