Japanese Works of Art - 13th November 2025
Lot 762
A RARE JAPANESE BOTTLE VASE WITH CHILDREN IN BUDDHIST HELL
Estimate £500 - £800 | Hammer £572
Inc. Buyers Premium
Description
A RARE JAPANESE BOTTLE VASE WITH CHILDREN IN BUDDHIST HELL
MEIJI ERA, 19TH/20TH CENTURY
Painted in polychrome enamels and gilt with lost souls by the Sanzu no Kawa and Sai no Kawara; one side with Jizō Bosatsu guiding small children; another with an oni boiling the dead in a large cauldron; a pillar to the side inscribed Kore ada Jigoku do, hidari Gokuraku do (This way to Hell, Paradise on the left); 30.5cm.
The Sanzu no Kawa (River of Three Crossings) is the Buddhist river that all souls must cross on their way to the afterlife. The Sai no Kawara (River-plain of the Dead) is the adjacent shore where the souls of children are condemned to eternally pile stones only to have demons knock them down until Jizō Bosatsu rescues them.