A wooden katabori netsuke depicting an episode in the life of Ono no Komachi: Soshi arai no Komachi (Komachi washing a book in a tub of water). It shows the poet Otomo no Kuronusgi in noble costume, turning his back on Ono no Komachi, who is busy washing a manuscript in a tub of water to prove the deception of his jealous and envious rival at a poetry tournament. Signature engraved below near the himotoshi: Gyokusensai - ?????. Japan, mid-Edo period, 18th-19th century. L.: 5 cm; H.: 3.5 cm