This is a #netsuke; a fastener for an #inro which is a detachable pocket used in Japan from #16CE. This carved netsuke shows the mythical #KingSojobo teaching the #Samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune in #12CE. Sōjōbō rules over the #tengu spirits from #Shinto belief who take the forms of birds & monkeys. This may be why Sōjōbō & his student appear to be in an eggshell.
In Source: Egg Netsuke
1 Reaction