Vintage, Traditional, RARE Wooden Mechanical Toy: “Komekui Nezumi” | Rice-Eating Mouse with Stamp

Dimensions: Toy: 3-3/4”h x 2-1/2” w x 1-7/8”d Stamp: 1-0”h x 1-3/4”w

This is a RARE, mechanical wood spring action toy of a Rice Eating Mouse, not seen on the market. The Japanese have long regarded the “komekui nezumi”, stylized after Daikokuten Nezumi, as a protector of wealth. However, the characterization of the Nezumi as amiable, efficacious, and auspicious is a powerful motif, (as seen in this vintage toy), which has enjoyed great popularity, particularly in eighteenth-century Japan. Many children played with Nezumi-motif toys during a time when the Japanese were faced with a very different reality in villages and cities. Additionally, it is reported that people throughout Japan played with a similar toy, as a way to pray to have enough rice to eat. The toy represents a time filled with the objects of people’s longings, that of enjoying an endless supply of food produced in their hidden utopia. 

This animal-motif toy has provided Buddhism, and its followers, with books as a vehicle, like the 1,773 picture book published by Rō Raishi in Edo, (modern-day Tokyo), entitled Edo nishiki, (Edo in two colors), which include several illustrations of Nezumi-motif toys. The book's images and folk tales were made available to share concepts that the general public could use to play out elaborate fantasies of the kind of utopia of abundance and wealth, that usually contrasted with their real lives through animal characters. Research tells us that the ‘Nezumi’ motif, the toy, remains overlooked, despite its function as a plaything in the everyday life of historical Japan. Finally, this toy comes with a New Year’s Commemorative Stamp which was sold throughout Japan beginning in 1960, and which sold out immediately. The artist of the toy is unknown, and the stamp was released by the Japan Post Company, (Nippon Yū-bin Kabushiki-gaisha). The stamp is in its original antique brass frame when purchased with the Nezumi toy. Both pieces remain in their original cardboard box from the 1950s. 

To see other Japanese toys on our site go to: https://mingeiarts.com/collections/vintage-japanese-toys. Additionally, Please see all the images provided to gain a full picture of both the item, and the history of Nezumi, published in Daikokuten nezumi toy in Edo nishiki (1773); Neko to nezumi toy in Edo nishiki (1773); and Komekui nezumi toy by Hyunhee Park (2019), and where our research is based.

Condition: Each piece is in excellent condition, as originally made. The spring action portion of the toy was reinforced by the maker to strengthen the element. BOTH PIECES ARE RARE TOY AND STAMP COLLECTORS’ FINDS.