Leiko Ikemura’s protective “Usagi” figure has travelled the world – and is now released as a Monopol edition.
She stands there like an apparition: the rabbit with a girl’s face, serene, almost smiling. Her ears, upright, point towards the sky. Below, the figure is firmly rooted in the earth, her bell-shaped skirt pierced with small holes like a starry canopy. Within this skirt, the universe finds a home – a place to retreat, like a cave. This is a “Usagi Kannon” by Leiko Ikemura.
“Usagi” is the Japanese word for rabbit (or hare), while “Kannon” in Japanese Buddhism refers to a female figure of contemplation – one who listens to human suffering and embodies compassion. It is no coincidence that her ears are directed skyward: they gather the energy of the universe. She stands for spirituality and profound empathy.
Hybrid beings between human and animal have captured the human imagination since the beginning of time, appearing across cultures in myths and narratives. They are deities or monsters, benevolent or fearsome – always supernatural and enigmatic. They represent transformation, fluid boundaries, and the idea that things are not always as they seem. A theme that runs throughout Ikemura’s work. Whether in painting, drawing or sculpture, the artist moves between abstraction and figuration, between Eastern and Western iconography, offering viewers poetic riddles.
Spirit Animal – Rabbit
Born in the Japanese city of Tsu, Ikemura went abroad as a student, first to Spain, then to Switzerland, Cologne and finally Berlin, where she lives today. Since the 1980s, she has challenged the German art scene with her distinctive artistic voice. For many years, she devoted herself to teaching at Berlin University of the Arts. Afterwards, it was as if she had tapped into a new source. The mature and sensitive body of work that followed has, in recent years, established her as an international figure. And her ambassador is the rabbit.
The first “Usagi Kannon” was created in 2011, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which claimed many lives in Ikemura’s native Japan and spread fear across the world. “The sculpture was meant to be a bearer of hope,” says Ikemura. Yet she soon realised that catastrophe and the search for comfort are universal themes: “There are natural and man-made disasters everywhere.”
The rabbit, initially conceived as a small sculpture, continued to grow. It was reincarnated in various materials: ceramic, wax, painted bronze. There are different versions – sometimes with a tear on its face, sometimes with a calm smile. “It is an iconic figure, it has a mission,” says the artist. And it carries many layers of meaning. “‘Usagi’ in Japanese does not simply mean an ordinary rabbit, but also a mystical being. I like the sound of the word. There are stories from my childhood about a usagi on the moon. You can see a shadow on the moon, and people would say: that is Usagi – she is there, watching you.”
The rabbit also plays an important role in European art history, from Albrecht Dürer’s famous print to Joseph Beuys, who explained art to a dead rabbit. “In folklore and in the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, rabbits are associated with fertility. Our imagination is rich enough to lead us into other worlds. Perhaps that is a message of mine,” says Ikemura.
Her Usagi figure draws from both Buddhist tradition and Christian imagery. The motif of the Madonna of Mercy has been known since the Renaissance: figures of the Virgin Mary who gather those seeking protection beneath their expansive cloaks. “The sculpture is a synthesis of cultures,” says Ikemura. Yet its meaning remains open: “There is this mythological background, in the West and in Japan. But for me, it is also about opening up the imagination. It is a vessel – a dwelling for imagination.”
By now, the rabbit has become a world traveller: variations have been shown in Valencia, in the Swiss mountains, in London, Tokyo and Shizuoka. For Art Basel Paris, a more than four-metre-high “Usagi Greeting” is on view, prominently placed between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.
That the Usagi figures are often placed in public space is an important aspect for Ikemura. “I like that the figure travels and attracts people in different places. It is a form of art that has possibilities beyond a painting hanging on a wall. It has the potential for a positive expansion of the soul – it can reach people,” she says.
While major exhibitions this autumn at the Kunstmuseum Chur and the Albertina in Vienna celebrate Ikemura’s work, a small and particularly precious version of her most important sculpture has now been created: a 17-centimetre “Usagi Silver”, produced as an edition for Monopol.
For Ikemura, the edition is also a way of bringing her work closer to people in a new form. “It interests me how a sculpture can be presented in such different ways. Each time it takes on a different character. First ceramic, then wax and bronze – and now silver,” she says. The choice of material was deliberate: “Silver promises timelessness. And it stands between jewellery and sculpture. These transitional zones interest me, where one concept can shift into another. Silver is not typically used for sculpture – and that is precisely what makes it interesting to me.”
The edition is produced by the renowned art foundry St. Gallen. The artist travelled there several times to work with specialists on achieving the sculpture’s final form: a matte exterior and a surprising silver sheen inside the skirt. Ikemura has always understood her Usagi figure as a messenger of peace – a traveller to whom people can entrust their hopes and fears. In its smaller format, it gains a new quality: “The large sculpture embraces you. The small one, you can embrace with your own hands,” she says. “It is like comfort in a time of crisis.” It is also important to her that the small “Usagi Silver” contributes to a greater cause: part of the proceeds will go to Médecins Sans Frontières.
Leiko Ikemura, “Usagi Silver”, 2025
The sculpture measures 17 centimetres in height and is made of fine silver. It is issued in an edition of 20 (plus two artist’s proofs) and is priced at €22,000 plus VAT and shipping. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières. Degussa Goldhandel supports the edition as silver partner. For enquiries: editionen@monopol-magazin.de or dawson@monopol-magazin.de