Overview

This mirror with a medium-size straight rim is made of whitish brass, and its surface is plated with tin. On the upper right of the inner side of the rim is a lump resulting from the casting. In the 18th century, as in this example, mirrors 7-sun (21.2 cm) in diameter became widely popular as the standard size. Fine granules, sparsely but evenly distributed on the surface of the mirror back, are one of the features of the mid-Edo period (1615-1868). Nandina is an auspicious motiff because of a play on homonymous characters meaning "turning from difficulty," and is a favorite mirror design. Examples of the work of the governor of Yamashiro Province (part of present-day Kyoto Prefecture), Kawakami Munetsugi (n.d.), begin to appear in the late 17th century. In the early 18th century, he established himself in Kyoto, on Takoyakushi Street, west of Karasuma, and took the name Munetsugi. Most of the extant examples of his work feature the design of the utopian Mount Penglai (J., Hôrai).