AN UNUSUAL SILVER AND SHAKUDO BOX WITH JAPANESE YŌKAI (MONSTER)

AN UNUSUAL SILVER AND SHAKUDO BOX WITH JAPANESE YŌKAI (MONSTER)
MEIJI ERA, 19TH CENTURY
THE SILVER BOX DATED 1895

The top inset with a plaque depicting a kamaitachi ('sickle weasel'), the fury beast with sharp silver claws emerging from scrolling clouds in shakudo, its eyes and fangs picked out in gilt; mounted in a silver box of the same shape with English hallmarks for George Heath, London 1895; 8.8cm.

In Japanese lore, a kamaitachi or 'sickle weasel', scratches or tears people’s skin without reason, and is often held responsible for one's small cuts of unknown origins.