Monkey courtier, Kanamono

unsigned.

19th century.

Arno Ziesnitz, Springfield VA

Height: 6.7 cm.

Presumably a reference to something specific, this may indeed be a posthumous (hence less dangerous) reference to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s nickname Kozaru (little monkey). If that’s the case, the work was almost certainly made after the end of the Edo period, probably in the late 19th century.