Nemuri-neko

Nemuri - neko or Nemuri -no- neko (Japanese眠り 猫; Engl. " Sleeping cat " or "Sleeping Cat" ) is a famous Japanese sculpture in the shape of a sleeping cat. It is the work of the artist Hidari Jingorō (1594-1634) and located at the eastern corridor to the tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu in an adjoining shrine ( Okusha HOTO ) of Nikko Tosho-gu in Nikko. It is valid in Japan as a national treasure.

Description

The Nemuri - neko is represented as a gray - white spotted cat in resting - lying pose and with eyes peacefully closed, the animal is surrounded by peony flowers. Your motif is found in a lacquered wood panels above the entrance to the mausoleum. The figurine should have the power to keep rats and mice. Also to viewers to donate inner calm their peaceful slumber. On the back of a sparrow chirping is shown. It is positioned so that it would sit exactly on the back of the cat in the absence of the ornamental frame. This composition was chosen intentionally in order to perform a specific, symbolic statement can as long as the cat is sleeping peacefully, the sparrow can approach her ​​without being eaten. Therefore, the entire carving is generally regarded as a symbol of a peaceful world.