Antique Japan Japanese

Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina

Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina
Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina

Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina

Antique, Japanese Netsuke in hardwood with Patina; this piece clearly has been worn and well used. High attention to detail - see fine details of ears and eyes... Mask is donning a hachimaki (, or literally a "helmet-scarf") which is a stylized headband (bandana) in Japanese culture. Usually made of red or white cloth, worn as a symbol of perseverance, effort, and/or courage by the wearer. The historical origin of hachimaki is uncertain.

One theory links the cloth to those worn by early religious ascetics. Another theory states that they originated in headbands worn by samurai that kept their helmets on, to absorb perspiration, and keep hair out of their eyes. Perhaps the most well known usage of the hachimaki was by the kamikaze pilots toward the end of World War II; Kamikaze pilots would frequently don a hachimaki, usually with the kanji ("Kamikaze"), before flying to their deaths. Height = 1.9 inch / 4.9 cm. Width = 1.8 inch / 4.8 cm.

Depth = 0.9 inch / 2.2 cm. The item "Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina" is in sale since Thursday, March 1, 2018. This item is in the category "Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Masks". The seller is "cosmic_goods" and is located in Freeport, Maine.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

  • Type: Netsuke
  • Region of Origin: Japan
  • Age: 1900-1940
  • Primary Material: Wood
  • Maker: Unknown
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Color: Brown


Meiji Era, Wooden Japanese Netsuke Mask (Mennetsuke) Wearing a Hachimaki -Patina