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by Yuka Morii
Clay sculpture
General of discarded tableware, marching in the folk tradition of Izumo to ward off disease and pestilence.
The Setotaisho ("General of Seto Ware") is a yokai in the form of ceramic tableware, depicted by the great Edo-period yokai artist Toriyama Sekien. Around the same time, a folk art tradition known as Isshiki Kazari took root in Hirata (now part of Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture), in which figures and scenes were created by binding ceramic vessels together with wire. These displays were also believed to ward off disease and epidemics. Could there be a connection between these two traditions?
The Setotaisho ("General of Seto Ware") is a yokai in the form of ceramic tableware, depicted by the great Edo-period yokai artist Toriyama Sekien. Around the same time, a folk art tradition known as Isshiki Kazari took root in Hirata (now part of Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture), in which figures and scenes were created by binding ceramic vessels together with wire. These displays were also believed to ward off disease and epidemics. Could there be a connection between these two traditions?