Product Description

6385 A bamboo nyoi (priest’s staff) with a head of woven bamboo

Signed: Taisho Kinoe-tora (Ko-in) Rogetsu, Sansei Shokosai
Crafted by Shokosai III, in the twelfth month of the Year of Kinoe-Tora, of the Taisho period, (1914)
Kao (personal insignia-monogram) of Shokosai III.

Japan 20th century Taisho period

Dimensions: L. 22½” (57cm)

Tomobako inscribed (on the top of the lid):

Taisho Kinoe-tora (Ko-in), Rogetsu hosu
Crafted by Shokosai III, in the twelfth month of the Year of Kinoe-Tora, of the Taisho period. (Taisho 3, 1914).

Seal: Shokosai

Tomobako inscribed (on the insid0e of the lid):
Take no Nyoi
Nyoi, made of bamboo

Hayakawa Shokosai III (1864-1922) was the fifth son of Shokosai I (1815-1897).
Born in Osaka. He was a member of the Osaka Craft Society. His style is known for its free and bold design.

Nyoi literally means “as one wishes”. They appeared in Japanese monasteries as early as the 9th century and went on to become an integral part of the Buddhist priest’s regalia, used as an aid to meditation. They were also taken up by the literati who used them as objects of reflection to be held during sencha, the Chinese tea ceremony. This style of tea ceremony originated in China during the Tan dynasty and was particularly popular during the mid Tokugawa era when it was referred to as the original way of Tea.