Japanese bronze by Ikeda YÛHACHI - Hare with Leveret

This finely modeled bronze sculpture depicts a mother hare sheltering her leveret, a subject that allowed Ikeda Y?hachi to express both natural observation and emotional restraint with exceptional subtlety. The adult hare bends protectively over its young, her elongated ears and gently arched body forming a rhythmic, enclosing silhouette. The composition is compact and intimate, emphasizing the bond between parent and offspring without theatricality.

The surface is animated by Ikeda’s sensitive handling of texture: smoothly burnished areas contrast with more vigorously worked passages, capturing the taut musculature and alert vitality characteristic of the hare. The dark brown patina enhances these nuances, allowing light to glide across the surface and accentuating the sculptor’s confident modeling. The work balances realism with a quiet lyricism, a hallmark of Ikeda’s animal sculptures.
This theme of maternal protection, rendered with economy and empathy, places the sculpture among Ikeda Y?hachi’s most appealing small- to medium-scale animal bronzes.

Ikeda Y?hachi was a leading Japanese sculptor of the late Meiji, Taish?, and Sh?wa periods, renowned for his animal sculptures. Born in 1886 in Kagawa Prefecture, he studied sculpture at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, where he trained under Asakura Fumio, the central figure of modern Japanese academic sculpture.

Ikeda became especially celebrated for his depictions of animals—most famously horses, earning him the sobriquet “Y?hachi of the Horses” - but his oeuvre also includes hares, dogs, goats, and other creatures, all characterized by acute anatomical understanding and a restrained emotional depth. His works were regularly exhibited at the Bunten, Teiten, and Nitten national exhibitions, and he later served as a juror, underscoring his institutional importance.

International recognition came through his participation in the Olympic Art Competitions, with works shown at the 1932 Los Angeles and 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. After the Second World War, despite material shortages, Ikeda continued to sculpt, often turning to wood, and remained active until his death in 1963.

Today, Ikeda Y?hachi’s sculptures are held in major Japanese public collections and are increasingly appreciated by international collectors for their synthesis of Western academic realism and a distinctly Japanese sensitivity to nature.

Between 1930-1940.