Netsuke

Netsuke (Japanese ne “root”; tsuke “to fasten”), small cord-weights, or toggles, used to secure articles (sagemono) from a sash (obi), and forming part of Japanese national dress, in which there are no pockets.

Although netsuke are thought to have originated in the 14th century ad, very little is known of their history before the publication of the Soken Kisho, a book describing types and carvers of netsuke, in 1781. Netsuke reached their peak of popularity in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; most were made after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when Western styles of male dress were introduced in Japan, and when netsuke were exported as curios to Europe and the United States.

Netsuke are generally very small, approximately no more than 2.5 to 4 cm (1 to 1y in) wide or long. The best examples from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, though often very finely carved, are characterized by a smooth overall form so that the edges of the piece do not catch on clothing. Later examples made for export, deprived of their original function, are often much more fragile, with sharp projections. The types of objects suspended from the cord and secured by the netsuke, usually with a slip-bead (ojime) for loosening or tightening, included a case for medicine or seals (inro), a pipe case (kiseru-zutsu), a writing case (yatate), a tobacco box (tabako-ire), and a chopstick case (hashi-ire). Sometimes inro were made in a matching or complementing set with the netsuke and the ojime, possibly each with decoration referring to a ritual, omen, or myth.

As suggested by their name, netsuke were probably originally made from a simple piece of wood or a small gourd, but over the centuries a wide variety of materials and forms developed. As well as several varieties of stained, inlaid, polished, or lacquered wood, netsuke were carved from ivory, horn, amber, jet, jade, and coral. There were three main types of netsuke, of which the earliest is probably the manju, a round form resembling a flat button and named after a small Japanese rice cake. Manju netsuke were either solid, with a metal ring for attaching the cords, or hollow, with holes in the bottom for inserting and knotting the cord. In the 19th century ivory, horn, and bamboo, sometimes etched and carved, were popular materials for manju netsuke. The other main types of netsuke were the kagamibuta (“mirror-lid”)—a shallow bowl, generally of ivory, horn, wood, or bone, set with an engraved, inlaid, or etched metal disc, often made by a specialist craftsman—and the katabori (“figure-carved”), of which there was an endless variety. These figural carvings ranged from gods, demons, and Noh drama characters to birds, animals, insects, and fish, often realistically depicted in minute detail.

Although many netsuke are signed, little is known about netsuke-carvers. Many were probably craftsmen in other fields, such as mask- , doll- , and instrument-making or sword-decorating, who produced netsuke as a sideline. Among the important netsuke-carvers mentioned in the Soken Kisho are Yoshimura Shuzan of Osaka, who specialized in miniature statues of gods and temple figures, and Tomotada of Kyoto, who was famous for his carvings of animals, especially recumbent oxen. Well-known 19th-century netsuke-makers include Ohara Mitsuhiro who made streamlined carvings of birds, and Kokusai whose work is often carved from stag’s antlers.