Post by peterman on Sept 27, 2024 5:08:58 GMT
Here is a quick note on the maker of the vase:
大日本 (Great Japan)
薩摩國 (Satsuma-no-Kuni or Satsuma province)
實生院製 (Manufactured by True/Real Life Academy)
长州山 (Nagato-no-Kuni Mountain)
玉龍謹画 (Painted by a person whose name in Chinese means Jade Dragon Prudent)
The seal is the word 實 which means truth, reality in Japan, very similar to the Chinese meaning.
For those who may not know this, a literate Chinese person can communicate quite well with a Japanese who is proficient in Kanji (meaning Han characters) in writing but not by speech.
The Sun-cross symbol is the heraldry representation for the Shimazu Clan which ruled over Satsuma province.
The three-clawed dragon (it is a well known representation of the Chinese dragon) is an established hierarchical symbol since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Five-clawed dragons are only for royal implements. Four-clawed dragons are for lesser branches and three-clawed dragons for aristocrats and vassals. Before Ming, dragons could have any number of claws, usually three. Most Japanese artwork uses three claws for their dragons.
My sister at Princeton speaks Japanese and has studied in Japan. I've asked her if she can discover something about the scene. I'm guessing it has something to do with a myth or a religious event. I can see a person with a halo and another person with a fly whisk sometimes carried by Guanyin and generally a symbol of enlightenment used by Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The dragon rider carrying a staff could be the monk who brought Buddhism from China to Japan. But this is pure speculation on my part.
Hope this turns your vase into a conversation piece in the house.
Peter Man
大日本 (Great Japan)
薩摩國 (Satsuma-no-Kuni or Satsuma province)
實生院製 (Manufactured by True/Real Life Academy)
长州山 (Nagato-no-Kuni Mountain)
玉龍謹画 (Painted by a person whose name in Chinese means Jade Dragon Prudent)
The seal is the word 實 which means truth, reality in Japan, very similar to the Chinese meaning.
For those who may not know this, a literate Chinese person can communicate quite well with a Japanese who is proficient in Kanji (meaning Han characters) in writing but not by speech.
The Sun-cross symbol is the heraldry representation for the Shimazu Clan which ruled over Satsuma province.
The three-clawed dragon (it is a well known representation of the Chinese dragon) is an established hierarchical symbol since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Five-clawed dragons are only for royal implements. Four-clawed dragons are for lesser branches and three-clawed dragons for aristocrats and vassals. Before Ming, dragons could have any number of claws, usually three. Most Japanese artwork uses three claws for their dragons.
My sister at Princeton speaks Japanese and has studied in Japan. I've asked her if she can discover something about the scene. I'm guessing it has something to do with a myth or a religious event. I can see a person with a halo and another person with a fly whisk sometimes carried by Guanyin and generally a symbol of enlightenment used by Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The dragon rider carrying a staff could be the monk who brought Buddhism from China to Japan. But this is pure speculation on my part.
Hope this turns your vase into a conversation piece in the house.
Peter Man
