2021 heralds the Year of the Metal Ox and people born under this zodiac sign are admired for their reliability and steadfastness, even if they can sometimes appear stubborn and may occasionally let their firmly held views get the better of them. Slow and steady seems to be the way we have to confront the challenges of the world at this time, so lets hope it augurs well.

The netsuke shown here, from my archives, shows the warrior brigand Kidomaru peering out from under an ox skin as he lies in wait to ambush and kill his sworn enemy, Minamoto no Yorimitsu. His desire for vengeance arose from the occasion when Yorimitsu’s men had captured, beaten him and bound him in chains – an ordeal from which he had managed to escape. Learning that Yorimitsu would pass by, he was said to have killed a large ox with a stone and then disemboweled it in order to use the hide as his disguise.

However Yorimitsu’s retainers learned of his plan and he was killed with a single arrow through the ox’s hide. Carved by Ikkokusai Toun, this is probably his masterpiece.