Passed
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Description
33" (84 cm.) Bunraku-ningyo (puppet) depicting the young tragic hero Minamoto Yoshistune from the play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees), has head carved of wood and covered in a fine white gofun with painted details, face of a handsome youth with trigger mechanism allowing for the eyebrows to raise and lower and the eyes to shift from side, is wearing military costume with signature dragon worked into his breastplate and also in the brocade patterning of his thick obi tie belt, silk brocade kimono and brocade hakama trousers with the Minamoto Clan rindo (gentian) pattern, silk tabi socks with straw sandals, and matching hachimaki headband. Minor wear to textiles, minor lifting of gofun above right temple, Meiji Era, late 19th century. Exhibited Morikami Museum (2012). Published in Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo, p. 214. Yoshitsune and The Thousand Cherry Trees, written in 1747 by Takeda Izumo II, is considered one of the great classics of Japanese theater, and was often adapted to the Kabuki stage.