188 - ZESHO: A RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF A CAT COURTESAN (NEKO GEISHA) AND CATFISH (NAMAZU)

ZESHO: A RARE WOOD NETSUKE OF A CAT COURTESAN (NEKO GEISHA) AND CATFISH (NAMAZU) By Zesho (Koreiku), signed Zesho 是生 saku 作 Japan, second half of the 19th century Finely carved as an anthropomorphic cat courtesan entwined with a large catfish, the feline elegantly dressed in a flowing kimono incised with asanoha and geometric patterns, one paw raised demurely to her chest. Her expressive face is detailed with narrowed eyes, delicately stippled whisker pads, and finely incised fur. The namazu’s powerful body curls beneath and around the cat, its deeply grooved fins and sweeping tail wrapping around her back to form a compact and animated composition. Asymmetrical himotoshi to the back and underside, the latter neatly carved with the cat’s paws, and signed ZESHO saku [made by Zesho]. LENGTH 4 cm Provenance: Dr. T. Schrire Collection. Sotheby’s, A Fine Collection of Netsuke and Inro, 11 June 1973, London, lot 75. From a French private collection, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition with minor expected surface wear and a short crack to one of the namazu’s barbels. The seemingly whimsical pairing of a cat courtesan and catfish carries a distinctly satirical meaning rooted in early Meiji society. In contemporary caricature, the cat (neko) served as a familiar surrogate for a geisha or courtesan, while the long-whiskered namazu could represent the moustachioed officials of the new Meiji government. Kawanabe Kyosai repeatedly exploited this visual code to lampoon the close relationship between government officials and the pleasure quarters. In the present netsuke, the two figures are not simply juxtaposed but tightly entwined, the massive fish curling intimately around the elegantly dressed feline. The composition may therefore be read as a pointed satire on the entanglement of Meiji officialdom with the pleasure quarters, exposing the appetites and private indulgences of the new ruling class beneath the rhetoric of modernization and “civilization and enlightenment.” A close parallel to this subject is found in Kawanabe Kyosai’s painting Cat on a Catfish Boat, in which the cat likewise represents a courtesan and the whiskered namazu a government official. Auction comparison: The present carving displays striking stylistic affinities with the work of Hokyudo Itsumin, also in the manner in which the signature is cut. Compare a related wood netsuke of a cat chasing a rat by Itsumin, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 7 November 2025, Vienna, lot 193 (sold for EUR 7,865).