Rare Antique Japanese Hand Carved Wood 'Kyoshi' Tray Featuring Ukan & Uzo (Panel Wall Hanging)

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A rare Japanese wood panel or 'tray' - one solid piece of wood, carefully hand carved with what is said … Read more A rare Japanese wood panel or 'tray' - one solid piece of wood, carefully hand carved with what is said to be a Chinese poem with humour and jokes called the Seven-word Kyoshi of the Edo period. The dynamics of the trio are very amusing to look at.
There are some characters that cannot be clearly identified in the calligraphy. We think the meaning is as follows.
"The first half (on the right) is a man UKAN, and when he played against the 'wise as a fox' scary elder, he continued to win without losing, and, then it was fun to drink delicious sake.
The second half of the other elder's phrase.
"The other elder UZO was not having fun, he lost so much that he felt ill, but the younger one didn't feel compassion for his superior."
We can't be exactly sure - this is our best guess.
Age Late 19th. C/Early 20th Century.
Listed by East2West Furniture Florida.
W20", D.75", H15.8".

During the Edo period, kyōshi was a type of satiric poetry that emerged alongside other forms of popular humor like kyōka and senryū. Kyōshi focused on social satire and often explored risqué topics.
With "Seven-word Kyoshi," it's important to clarify that kyōshi itself refers to a genre of poetry, not a specific person or seven-word format. However, the Edo period did see a rise in popularity of satiric poetry, including kyōshi, often found in publications like "Elegant Compositions by Two Masters" which features examples of kyōshi. See less