Type: Katabori (Sculptural) Netsuke

Material: Wood

Age: Edo Period (1603-1868)

Origin/Maker: Japan.  Unsigned.

Size: 3.2" tall (8 cm)

Weight: 0.5 oz (15 g)

Provenance: 
Present: Ryan Snooks collection of Japanese & Asian Decorative Art
Previous: Robyn Buntin
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Collected: Robyn Buntin of Honolulu Gallery, 12 DEC 2021, Honolulu, Hawaii.  I was his first customer at his new location in Chinatown!

Condition: Item is used in good condition commensurate with age, see photos.  Some light surface wear and dents.

Subject: Funayūrei, a yurei (vengeful ghost) that appears to people in boats, and slowly fills their boats with water using it's ladle, causing the boat to sink, and the passengers to join the ghosts.  Note the lack of feet (rather, there is a curling upward of the robe), a feature of Japanese ghosts.

From Wikipedia:

Funayūrei are ghosts believed to use hishaku (ladles) to fill boats with water and make them sink. They are said to be the remnants of people who have died in shipwrecks and are attempting to cause humans to join them.[1] According to legends, there are various methods that can be used to protect from the harm they inflict, such as throwing onigiri into the sea or preparing a hishaku with its bottom missing. They're also called mōjabune (亡者船), bōko, or ayakashi depending on the region.[2] Umibōzu, colossal giants encountered far out at sea, are sometimes considered to be a type of funayūrei rather than a type of yōkai.[3]
Their appearance as depicted in legends varies widely depending on the area. There are stories that speak of ghosts that appear above water, of boats that are themselves ghosts (ghost ships), of ghosts that appear on human-occupied ships, or of any combination of the above. They are described as appearing like umibōzu or as an atmospheric ghost light.[1][2] There are many legends of funayūrei at sea, but they have also been described as appearing in rivers, lakes, and swamps of inland areas.[1] In Kōchi Prefecture, the kechibi, a type of onibi, is also sometimes seen as being a type of funayūrei.[4]
They often appear in rainy days, nights on a new or full moon,[5] stormy nights, and foggy nights.[1] When it appears as a boat, the funayūrei itself glows with light, so that it is possible to confirm its appearance even at night.[5] Also, on the sixteenth day of Bon, the dead would attempt to approach the side of the ship and sink it. They are also said to appear on very foggy evenings, and attempt to capsize ships by making a cliff or a boat without a pulley appear, since getting startled and attempting to avoid it would result in capsizing and getting stranded on a reef. It is said that these illusions can be made to disappear by sailing though them.[2]
Other than attempting to sink ships, in the town of Ōtsuki, Hata District Kochi Prefecture, they are said to make the boat's compass malfunction,[6] and in the Toyoma Prefecture, fishing boats that travel to Hokkaido get turned into a funayurei, causing the crew to hang themselves.[7] In Ehime Prefecture, when one encounters a funayurei, trying to avoid it by changing the boat's route, will run the boat aground.[8][9] Also, in the past, to avoid shipwrecks during bad weather, people would light a bonfire on land. However, a funayurei would light a fire on open sea and mislead the boatmen, and by approaching the fire, they would get eaten by the sea and drown.[10]
There are also various legends about how to drive away funayurei depending on the area. For example, in the Miyagi Prefecture, when a funayurei appears, they would disappear if one stops the ship and stares fixedly at the funayurei for a while.[11] Stirring up the water with a stick is also said to work.[11] There are also theories that vary from place to place about throwing thing into the sea to avoid them. In Kōzu-shima, it would be flowers and incense, incense sticks, dango, washed rice, and water,[12] in Kochi Prefecture, it would be ashes and 49 rice cakes,[11] in Otsuki, Kochi, it would be summer beans,[13] and in Nagasaki Prefecture, it would be woven mats, ashes, and burnt firewood.[14] Also, in Kochi Prefecture, it is said to be possible to drive funayurei by saying "I am Dozaemon (わしは土左衛門だ)" and asserting to be one of the funayurei.[4] In Ehime, one is able to disperse the funayurei by lighting a match and throwing it.[9]

Location:
Antique Japanese Wood Netsuke Funayurei Ship Ladle Ghost Yurei Yokai Japan

COMBINED SHIPPING:

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END DATES, SHIPPING TIMES:

My auctions typically start and end on Sunday.  I try to mail items out the following business day after they’re paid for, but this depends on when in the day they’re paid for and if I have time to wrap everything and get to the Post Office before they close.  My nearby Post Office recently shortened their hours, so I’m now only making two or three Post Office visits each week.  I don’t count weekends and Federal Holidays in this shipping timeline, and my imaginary business hours are 9am-5pm (PST).  So typically if you pay for an item on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, it will be at my local Post Office by Monday or Tuesday, and if you pay on Monday it will be there on Tuesday or Wednesday.  If I’m going to be out of town for just a few days I might adjust this shipping time from more than three days rather than set a Vacation Hold, but this is uncommon.  Note that eBay is not my full-time job and I don’t have anyone helping me pack items, so sometimes unexpected delays will happen, but I do try my best to get items out on time (and failing to do so results in penalties from eBay).  Please let me know if you need something urgently and I’ll try to make it a priority.

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REFUNDS & RETURNS:

Refunds are given for items that arrive with damage due to shipping.  I do my best to protect everything I sell, but much of what I sell is very fragile and the possibility always exists that it might get damaged along the way.  If this happens to you, please let me know how bad the damage is (pictures help), and I can either give you a partial refund if you still want to keep the item, or I might request to have you ship it back using the same packaging, and I’ll refund your cost of shipping (both ways), plus the cost of the item.  Typically this is all processed by requesting a refund through eBay, but I’d appreciate if you’d send me a message first.

Refunds are also given for items you believe I’ve misrepresented, based on condition or otherwise.  I do my best to research, describe in detail, and present comprehensive photos of everything I sell, but sometimes I make mistakes, miss a defect, or am not particularly knowledgeable about the item in question.  If you receive an item that you aren’t completely happy with, please contact me and we’ll work something out.  The last thing I want is for my customers to feel that they’ve been taken advantage of.

Order cancellations are possible if I haven’t yet shipped an item out.

Returns for other reasons are accepted, but the original shipping cost is not refunded and you’ll need to pay for return shipping.  Your return will be processed through eBay, and will be paid once I’ve received the item back in the condition it was sent out in.  These fees are meant to discourage excessive or frivolous returns, but if you have a legitimate reason for a return, please let me know and we’ll try to work something out.

PACKAGING:

Items are typically shipped in large cardboard boxes, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap, and padded with lots of recycled paper.  I’ll double box items when possible, but note that it often adds a significant amount of weight to the shipment, which will usually increase your shipping cost.  Feel free to send me a message with any additional packaging requests you might have, but note that I can’t always honor them (especially if you’ve already paid for shipping and your request might significantly add to the package weight).

SHIPPING COSTS:

Shipping is often expensive.  The calculated shipping amount that eBay provides is often even more expensive than it should be.  If the shipping cost seems excessively expensive, please let me know and I’ll see if I can make you a more reasonable quote based on the USPS.com shipping calculator.  Note that the cost of shipping is determined by:

* How far it’s going.  I’m in Port Hueneme, CA 93041.  Shipments within California are cheap, but not so cheap to the East Coast or other countries

* How bulky the package is.  Typically I ship using the following box sizes: 7”x7”x7”, 12”x12”x8”, or 12”x12”x16”.  The size of the box I use will usually need to account for the size of the item, plus 2” to 4” in each direction for packaging.  The size of the box usually doesn’t affect the price much, unless if dimensions start going over 12” (within California it doesn’t matter much – bulk away!)

* How much the package weighs.  USPS First Class within the US needs to be a package weight of less than 1 pound (this used to be 13 oz).  USPS First Class International is less than 4 pounds, I think.  Note that for small items most of this weight will be due to packaging material.  To estimate the package weight, I typically take the weight of the item and then double or triple it.

Note that I much prefer to ship using USPS Priority and I will often not use less reliable or slower methods of shipping as options if the price is comparable.  I offer USPS First Class within the US only for shipments that weigh less than a pound.  I offer USPS First Class International for most countries for shipments weighing less than 4 pounds, but because of lack of tracking and insurance options I may require USPS Priority for more expensive shipments (please contact me if you have any concerns on this).  USPS Parcel Post and USPS Ground are usually only used within the US for large, heavy items.  Please make sure you select the correct shipping option you’d like when paying.  Please feel free to send me any questions about shipping, but keep in mind that it can be expensive, especially for large, fragile items that need to go across the country or the world.

Also, please don’t ask me to misrepresent the item cost on your customs shipping forms.  I understand that import taxes can be expensive, but I’m not going to mark any items as being less expensive than they actually are, especially since anyone with a computer or cell phone could easily check that price against the old listing.

PRICES, BEST OFFERS & VACATION HOLDS:

I’ll be honest, I don’t do a lot of research on where to set my prices.  I typically list them first at auction at about what I think they might be worth, and if they don’t sell I relist them as Buy-It-Now with Best Offer.  After that I’m willing to consider just about anything, but if you think I’m asking way too much on an item, please let me know why rather than just sending me a very low offer (which I might otherwise decline).  How much I’m willing to adjust my asking price (if at all) is dependent on a variety of factors such as: how much I like the item, how much it cost me, how long I’ve had it listed, what it’s valued at, what similar items have sold for, and what other buyers have offered for it.  Items I’ve had listed for years I’ll typically be happy to accept a lot less on (50% to 75% off), while items that I’ve had listed for just a few days will typically be much closer to my asking price.  I review all offers and never auto-decline, but I might decline without a counter-offer if an offer seems outrageously low with no explanation.

My store is usually active even when I’m out of town, but I can’t sell or ship anything until I get back.  You can still watch items and ask me questions, but if I have an active Vacation Hold in place I’ll have to decline your offers until I get back.  If you see I have a Vacation Hold in place, instead of sending me an offer (which I’ll have to decline) please first send me a message with your price and I’ll respond back.  If we can agree on a price I’ll let you know when I’ll be active again and I’ll hold the item for you until I get back.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

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AUTHENTICITY:

Any item details regarding item age, origin, and authenticity are my best guess based on my limited knowledge of antiques and are not guaranteed to be correct.  Typically, the more details I give in the description, the more certain I am of the item.  On the other hand, if I’m vague in the description, it’s probably because I’m not sure.  Please use your best judgement and check the photos.  Feel free to send me a message with any concerns and I’ll be happy to chat.  If you still aren’t sure on an item, please consider having an expert check it out (I recommend ValueMyStuff.com).  And if you receive your item and still have concerns, please let me know.

OTHER NOTES:

Any items in the background, used for scale, or used to prop up or display the item are not included in the sale unless otherwise specified or requested.

Please contact me for any questions regarding the item or shipping, or requests for additional pictures.  Also, feel free to contact me if you see something similar to what you want, as I have a lot of inventory that I haven’t listed yet, and I might have what you’re looking for.


International buyers – please note: Import duties, taxes, and charges aren't included in the item price or postage cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying. Note that customs to the UK in particular tend to be rather high (often around 30% of the item+postage cost).
All items ship from Port Hueneme (Zip Code 93041), CA, USA.
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