Netsuke: a sennin

A polychrome glazed porcelain netsuke depicting Gama sennin, here standing, his mouth open and his constant companion, a toad - freely movable - in his sleeve. Gama sennin (Chin.: Hia-mo Sien-jen or Hamo Xienren) is a hermit from Chinese mythology who, with the help of what one might call 'toad magic', was able to exhale his spiritual being. This then left the body and roamed freely. Furthermore G…