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Tiger Art Good Luck Amulet


Fortunes Of War
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Fortunes Of War

     I have enjoyed collecting Japanese good luck flags since I was a young kid.  The first art work flag that I acquired was while I was in high school.  That flag had a small picture of Mount Fuji painted on it along with a small rendition of a Japanese flag, flying from a flag pole.  Flags with art were really tough to find at the time and aren't particularly easy now.  I can't remember when I found my first tiger painted flag but this style is probably one of my favorites.  The Japanese also created many different kinds of cloth amulets as good luck amulets or presentation gifts.  Many of these seem to have been made on small squares of white cotton or linen cloth, about the size of a handkerchief.  Quite of few of those have tigers drawn upon them, normally in black ink but some are filled in with colored paints or inks.

     Here is a tiger painted cloth that was intended as a good luck gift.  It will be included in my book on tiger good luck flags and you can see it and others similar to it, once it is made available.  The cloth was owned by my friend John Egger and was given to me as Christmas gift1088063182_Tiger-4-JohnEgger.jpg.5cc4e20ae651a4ddbd06c6a6ca907c26.jpg near the time of his death. 

     

This detailed painting of a tiger's head was produced on cotton cloth using black, gray, red, and white ink.  Below the tiger's ear are 3 vertical rows of kanji characters.  On the right-hand side, the 5 characters say, Ki Buun Chokyu or “I Pray Your Military Fortunes Are Long Lasting”.  The smaller vertical row of kanji in the center say, September Tsuchinoe-Tora or “September 1938”.  The written name, and red seal in the left-hand column are too difficult to translate. 

Tiger good luck cloth/amulet measures: 15.00” X 14.00” (38.10cm X 35.56cm”)

Amulet Courtesy of John Egger

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Dean for the comment.  It is a rather large painted tiger in profile with great detail.  I have a number of others that I will post over the  next few days. Stay tunes.....

Mike

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                                                                354535194_Chapter1313_14.jpg.58da305fac8e19604f9f291f682b49f7.jpg 

                                                                                                        Tiger good luck cloth/amulet measures: 12.00” X 12.00” (30.48cm X 30.48cm).

                                                                                                                                                    Amulet Courtesy of The John Egger Collection

     This marvelous sitting tiger image is painted upon cotton cloth, entirely in shades of black, gray, and white.  The vertical row of 4 kanji characters shown in the upper right-hand corner say, Kogun Muteki or “Unbeatable Imperial Army”.   The 4 ideograms in the corresponding upper left-hand corner say, Buun Chokyu or “May Your Military Fortunes Be Long Lasting”.  The probable artist's name, and red seal in the lower left-hand corner are very difficult to read.

     

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I'm glad that you guys are enjoying them!  Most people know John as a headgear guy and he was, "to beat the band"!  On the other hand, there were few occasions when he could pass up purchasing anything like this, with a tiger painted on it.  When I first met him, he had some amazing tiger painted good luck flags as well as small cloth painted items like the two posted here.  When I decided to do the book on tiger flags and amulets, John was there to offer up his collection for photographing.  I might add that you were as well, Bob (many thanks!)  A number of great pieces will now be shown in print for the first time because of his love for the hobby.  Another big, "thank you" goes out to you too Bob for being able to photograph some of your tiger painted good luck flags.  More images to come.....

Mike 

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This piece and many other similar examples will be featured in my upcoming book on tiger painted good luck flags and cloth amulets; it's a rather whimsical looking tiger figure.

                                                                      Chapter 13 13.13.jpg

                                                                            Tiger good luck cloth/amulet measures: 8.00” X 13.00” (20.32cm X 33.02cm).

                                                                                                      Amulet Courtesy of The John Egger Collection

The previous image of a pouncing tiger was painted upon a remnant of cotton cloth using black, and red ink; it contains no kanji writing or ink stamp of any kind.  It was found among a number of other wartime era belongings owned by someone who served in the Japanese military during the War.

 

 

 

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Chapter 13 13.7.jpg

                                                              Tiger good luck cloth/amulet measures: 14.00” X 17.00” (35.56cm X 43.18cm)

 

     This beautiful tiger good luck amulet was fashioned from an un-hemmed piece of white silk cloth.  In the upper right-hand corner, the 4 vertical characters for Buun Chokyu, or “May Your Military Fortunes Be Long Lasting” may be seen. To the left of that near the center, the characters for, “Win Japan!”, and “Justice” are seen.  In the lower right-hand quadrant, in the 4 o'clock position are 4 bold  ideograms that say, Jinchu Hokoku or “Serving The Nation With Utmost Loyalty”.  Near the lower-center, the smaller vertical line of Japanese characters say, “For The Country”.    

 

     A detailed tiger, crouching upon a rock amid a bamboo thicket was painted in the lower left-hand quadrant by the artist using black, white, gray, red, orange, yellow, and green ink or paint.  At the tip of the tiger's tail, near the center of the cloth, a 5-sen good luck coin was stitched to the silk using white cotton thread.

 

     In an unusual format, a white paper ofuda was stitched near the center-front of the cloth above the tiger's head.  Its red characters say, Nenpo Reigen, a prayer or slogan that was used by the (rather new at the time), Buddhist sect known as Nenpo Shinkyo.  Established on August 3, 1925 by Reigen Ogura, and still active today, it has by its own account, over 1 million believers (511,000 adherents according to other sources), in Japan.  According to the organization, “The spirit of Nenpou Shinkyou proclaims that all people throughout the world, regardless of religion, nationality or cultural background, should join hands in fellowship to build a world without conflict.  Nenpou Shinkyou teaches the True Way in which we should live- the Goseikun”, or 5 precepts.  Its main temple, known as Kongouji, is located in Osaka, Japan.

     Two small red seals may be seen near the edge of the material in the left-hand corner.  The upper seal is quite blurry, while the characters of the lower example are too highly stylized to read.

 

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