Finely carved boxwood okimono with the toad that fearlessly faces the snake, standing facing each other waiting for the first to make the first move. It represents the particular love-hate relationship that Japan has experienced with these creatures over the centuries. The toad, warty and slimy in its habitat in gloomy places, has something in its little eyes that evokes a certain affection. The Japanese have a term for this type of cognitive dissonance: Kimo-Kawaii, cute and gross. According to many legends, he is immortal and endowed with magical powers and sometimes sinister qualities. Sometimes the toad is associated with the snake, it symbolizes the eternal challenge between life and death. Unique example ed