Chinese or Japanese carving

Hello everyone, I hope you all are keeping well?

I have a query and was just wondering if anyone can tell me if the attached carved figure is Chinese or Japanese, also can anyone read the signature? Any help greatly welcomed.

Thanks,
PF

 

Japanese okimono. Looks nicely done to me.

 

Hes lovely.is it ivory?

 

Thanks guys for clarifying. Only have to find out or discover who carved it now. Hopefully someone can read Japanese.
It is carved ivory and old. Very nicely decorated too.

Thanks for the help

 

Beautiful okimono. Ivory and lacquer with gilding. The lacquer leaves on the tree stump base are a nice detail, very Japanese.
Another nice detail are the chop sticks in the bag suspended from his waistband.
He is playing a samisen, with a little fan dancer by his side. The fan has a moon, symbol of the night and of Yin.
Moon fans were also worn by samurai. Because a samurai should always be prepared, the guardsticks of the fan were made of iron. When closed, it could act as a weapon.
Could we see the little dancer?

Here is a dance with samisen accompaniment. Not for impatient people, but worth taking a look:


The maker is bound to be known. We have a Japanese speaker on board, I'll see if I remember who. Maybe @Mat can help, he knows quite a few Japanese characters.

 

Hi Any Jewlry, sorry I am only getting back to you now with a photo of the little dancer. Since originally posting the photos I missed out on the piece. I see though that no one ever was able to identify the carver. It was definitely a superb item and very well done, definitely by a Japanese master carver.

Thanks again for all your help and assistance, nice to share the piece with you all.

Best wishes,
PF