Netsuke

Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an inrō box, netsuke later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship.

These containers may have been pouches or small woven baskets, but the most popular were crafted boxes (inrō) held shut by ojime, sliding beads on cords.

Netsuke, like inrō and ojime, evolved over time from being strictly utilitarian into objects of great artistic merit and an expression of extraordinary craftsmanship.

This effect is particularly pronounced in netsuke, owing to long periods of isolation imposed both by geography and internal politics and limited avenues of self-expression for Japanese citizens due to custom and law.

[9][10][11] As a result, netsuke display every aspect of Japanese culture, including its rich folklore and religion, crafts, trades, and professions, all types of people and creatures, both real and imagined, and every kind of object.

As in other aspects of Japanese culture, the subjects portrayed by netsuke trend, over the long term, away from an initial emphasis on motifs of Chinese derivation toward a focus on objects of more strictly national interest.

[22][23] The Tokyo National Museum has a small exhibition room dedicated to displaying 50 of the 500 contemporary netsuke works collected by the Prince and Princess Takamado.

The Hare with Amber Eyes netsuke , by Masatoshi, Osaka, c. 1880 , signed. Ivory, amber buffalo horn
An ivory netsuke with an eagle design and an inrō with a deer design. The combination of netsuke and inrō creates a story of an eagle preying on deer. Edo period , 18th century
Drawing of a man wearing an inrō supported by a netsuke passed through the ties of his hakama .
Netsuke of tigress with two cubs, mid-19th century, ivory with shell inlay
Walnut netsuke (approx. 17th century)
Carved netsuke of a sleeping rat, made out of ivory, by Masanao of Kyoto
Squid, vase and barnacles. 19th century netsuke. Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm .