Princess Yaguchi
| Stoneware Clay, 18" x 12" x 10" (HxWxL) |
In the sixteenth century the Takeda and Uesugi families were feuding. The daughter of Uesugi Kenshin was in love with Takeda Katsuyori, son of her father’s greatest rival. Princess Yaguchi heard that her lover was in great danger from her father’s Samurai. She rushed to the Suwa Hosho Shrine. There she found the Takeda heirloom, the magical helmet. In order to reach her lover Princess Yaguchi had to cross a frozen lake. Praying to the god of the Suwa shrine, she set out. Here in the sculpture we see her clutching the helmet while the ice cracks beneath her feet.