something different for a happy easter

www.metmuseum.org  Rogers Fund, 1907

To Western eyes it may be a surprise to see a helmet fashioned to look like a rabbit.  To a Japanese samurai, it made perfect sense:  every child knew of the Rabbit in the Moon, who offered to give up his very life to feed a hungry stranger.  That discipline and sacrifice was a huge part of a samurai's belief.  At this helmet's page at the Metropolitan Museum you can hear a very short podcast about the Moon Rabbit's origin story (click "Audio"), and at this page you can read the different forms the story takes in various traditions.

May this Easter see you in the bravest spirits for a fiercely beautiful spring (or autumn, if you are one of my friends from down under)!

war rabbit

the walters art museum. Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters. creative commons 0 license.

Once (in Japan, perhaps in the 19th century) this rabbit served a martial purpose.  He's a kurikata, a knob with which a cord can be attached to a wooden scabbard.  His unusual coloring is due to his being made of the alloy shibuichi, which is a mixture of silver and copper, with golden eyes.