EDO PERIOD (18TH CENTURY)

Although netsuke of tanuki and foxes standing erect, or wearing clothes in part transformation into human form are well known, this figure of a horse in startlingly human pose is something of a rarity. Horses are usually depicted in natural form, although some representations derive from tales such as that of Oguri Sukeshige whose enemy Yokoyama Kazuhide had him ride a wild horse named Onokage which had been fed on human flesh. Sukeshige tamed the horse into climbing a ladder, and balancing on a four feet on a go board, thus escaping with his life. The subject is sometimes hinted at in netsuke of a horse with its four feet all touching, with and without the go board. But this present netsuke might have been made in connection with the annual Harukoma [spring horse] festival, when a horse-head puppet was held by dancers. The subject is found in 18th century ukiyo-e prints of 'Fuji Musume' performing the dance, and dolls celebrating the event are still popular today.