Decorative dish, six-point sun, extended swastika, hearts

Three-pointed cross and swastika design on a Japanese dish.

Decorative dish with Tokugawa crests

Japan, 18th - 19th Century

Wood, ivory, mother of pearl, gold

The famous historical moment is depicted on this decorative dish - when Tokiwa Gozen (1123 - 1180), Japanese noblewoman of the late Heian period, wife (or concubine) of the head of Minamoto clan leader Minamoto no Yoshitomo, who was killed in the general battle by Taira clan, is fled through the snow with her three sons and trying protect them from the snow with her clothes and an umbrella. Later the clan leader Taira clan captured her. Her two sons were sent to a Buddish monastery and the third child stayed with mother. Later he became the great samurai general Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who started the rebellion against the Taira Clan and defeated them in the final battle. The Tokugawa family, who were descendents of Minamoto clan, commissioned these dish, which is prouved, by the golden crests on the border, surrounded the central composition.

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