Shizuku (雫 — The Drop)

This netsuke is a sculptural dialogue with the great poet. Basho pitied a macaque shivering in the cold rain. However, the macaque in this carving—a clever temple monkey from the ancient Hiyoshi-taisha Shrine at the foot of Mount Hiei in Kyoto—did not suffer the cold. Macaques are officially sacred there, living in dense, perpetually
moist cedar forests where the temple grounds are adorned with lotus ponds. This clever animal plucked a heavy lotus leaf from the pond to use as a reliable umbrella (ha-gasa). This monkey is safe and comfortable. Its entire being is completely focused on a single point: a heavy raindrop (inlaid with blue opal) about to fall from the edge of the leaf.The rain and the drop are the quintessence of impermanence. Water has no form; it vanishes in a second. The philosophy of this piece lies in the accidental collision of primal instinct and profound Zen contemplation. The monkey is not pondering eternity. Its mind is filled with simple, animalistic curiosity: “What is glowing? Will it fall? Can I catch it?” Yet, through this intense focus, the animal achieves a perfect state of Zen—it is absolutely and totally present in the “here and now.”
The gemstone inlay literally freezes this fleeting illusion, turning a fraction of a second into eternity—it is the clash of the eternal and the fleeting (mono no aware). The dark indigo cord reflects the cold melancholy of the night rain, while the lotus seed pod ojimecompletes the architecture of this shelter, quietly symbolizing the true seeds of enlightenment that the monkey, mesmerized by the drop, completely ignores.

Material: Moose antler

Dimensions: 4.9 cm x 4.8 cm x 4.8 cm

Yashabushi (alder cone) impregnation,pyrography, raindrop opals.

Monkey eyes: Nashiji gold glitter, blackUrushi, acrylic glass.

April, 2026. Europe, the private collection.