Ryûjin's Court Physician

Stag antler 80 x 18 x 18 mm, Masayuki, Edo (Tôkyô), approx. 1860 - 1880.

The octopus is depicted with big round eyes and its mouth puckered to suggest a funnel. It is dressed in a long robe and is holding an open fan in two of its tentacles. With two more tentacles it scratches its big, domed head. The strong vertical grain of the horn used for the eye inlay adds a roguishly lifelike expression to the face.

Legend has it that an octopus was Ryûjin's court physician and this probably explains why doctors allegedly liked to wear octopus netsuke.

Katô Masayuki lived in the Yotsuya district of Edo and is said to have studied medicine.

Octopus Reading a Love-Book