Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Ritual Implement from the 18th-19th Century - Sankosho (11.8 cm in length)

Acquired from a collector in Taiwan. Edo Period (1603-1867 CE, early 17th-19th century). Corresponds to the late Ming Dynasty to mid-Qing Dynasty in Chinese dynasties. A Sankosho from the Edo period. Essentially 150-420 years old. A religious artifact over a century old. Total length 11.8 cm. Special bronze alloy. Oxidized to a dark patina, possessing the character of old Tibetan meteoritic iron. Hand-carved and finished. A distinctive Vajrayana ritual implement with a history of actual practice. Currently, most collectors in Taiwan focus on acquiring old Tibetan ritual implements. Very few collectors seek Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements, and the supply of old Japanese Esoteric implements on the market is even scarcer... Therefore, old Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements are difficult to promote in Taiwan... ********************************* Regarding the energetic resonance of ritual implements: I personally do not possess such sensitivity. Whether it's ancient Tibetan Phurba or Vajra... Or even Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Sottoba, Sankosho, or Gokocho... I feel nothing. However, when I acquired a large number of Tibetan Vajras this year, I also obtained a few Japanese ones. One evening, while handling a Sottoba, I placed it under my pillow before sleeping. Unexpectedly, I dreamt of a fire ritual scene, smelling the scent of burning pine resin. As I've often burned broken amber and beeswax prayer beads for friends in recent years to let them experience the aroma of genuine materials when burned... In the dream, I paid special attention to the scent... three times consecutively... Thus, I confirmed in my dream that it was indeed the smell of burning resin, like pine or amber/beeswax... Upon waking with the dawn... in over 30 years... I've handled countless ritual implements without any sensation... To be able to experience such a dreamlike resonance from this Sottoba... A fellow Taoist practitioner from southern Taiwan, who has long practiced spiritual cultivation and meditation, once remarked: "The mental power of Japanese practitioners surpasses that of Tibetans. Do not underestimate Japanese ritual implements..." On December 7, 2024, a fellow practitioner, a Taoist priest who has long engaged in spiritual cultivation and meditation, visited. He sensed the energies of several ritual implements in my possession... Both Tibetan (11th-18th century) and Japanese old Vajras... Upon holding them, he couldn't stop yawning uncontrollably. He exclaimed, "The energy field is so powerful..." Then, with an incredulous expression, he looked at me, asking if I felt nothing when touching these ritual implements??? After sensing them, he took photos to show his master. Then he listened as I explained the age and acquisition cost of each implement... The next morning, he shyly requested to acquire three Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements (Sottoba, Sankosho, and Gokocho) from me... Because the energetic resonance of Japanese ritual implements is almost as powerful as Tibetan ones, yet the price difference is substantial... Similar to the price disparity between Tibetan Dzi beads and West Asian beads... He likely calculated that Japanese ritual implements would be more affordable... On December 19, 2024, he traveled north specifically to find me and reported that the night he brought these Japanese ritual implements home, he placed two of them by his bedside. He then dreamt of two dragons, one large and one small, appearing within the Vajra. Having cultivated his sensitivity for many years, he was truly surprised this time. ********************************** On December 18, 2024, I made an offering to the esteemed master Ugyen Khenpo at the Dharma center. I inquired if there were any practices in Tibetan Buddhism involving the Sankosho. The master replied that it is primarily for householder yogis to visualize and cultivate. It is a practice of contemplation, visualizing the Sankosho in one's mouth... In practice, the ritual implement itself is not used. 20000-114.03.01