a monkey-shaped netsuke

a netsuke maintains an inro (box) in the obi (belt)

Japanese artists starting in the 17th century cleverly invented the miniature sculptures known as netsuke (Japanese:根付) to serve a very practical function. (The two Japanese characters ne+tsuke mean "root" and "to suspend or hang" in reference to the roots and twigs used as toggles before carved netsuke were produced.) Traditional Japanese garments - robes called kosode and kimono - had no pockets. Men who wore them needed a place to keep personal belongings such as pipes, tobacco, money, seals, or medicines. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1168, 210 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Netsuke Inro ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1168, 210 KB) Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Netsuke Inro ... Inro An inro (印籠) was a case for holding small objects. ... Kimono (Japanese: 着物, literally something worn, i. ...

The elegant solution was to place such objects in containers (called sagemono) hung by cords from the robes' sash (obi). The containers might take the form of a pouch or a small woven basket, but the most popular were beautifully crafted boxes (inro), which were held shut by ojime, sliding beads on cords. Whatever the form of the container, the fastener that secured its cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle called a netsuke. Obi (帯, おび) is a Japanese word referring to several different types of sashes worn with kimono and martial arts uniforms by both men and women. ... Inro An inro (印籠) was a case for holding small objects. ...

Such objects, often of great artistic merit, have a long history reflecting important aspects of Japanese folklore and life. Netsuke production was most popular during the Edo period in Japan, around 1615-1868. Today, the art lives on and carvers, a few of whose modern works command high prices (US$10,000 or more), are in the UK, Europe, the USA, Japan and elsewhere. Prices at auctions in the USA for collectible netsuke typically range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Inexpensive molded, faithful reproductions are available in museum shops and elsewhere for $30, or less. The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Edo Period. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Forms of Netsuke

Katabori Netsuke

Anabori Netsuke

Sashi Netsuke

Mask Netsuke

Manju Netsuke

Ryusa Netsuke

Kagamibuta Netsuke

Trick Netsuke

• katabori - this is the most familiar style, a compact three-dimensional figure carved in the round, usually around one to three inches high
• anabori - subset of katabori which is hollowed-out and carved within; the most common are scenes in clams
• sashi - this is an elongated form of katabori, similar in length to the sticks and gourds used as improvised netsuke before carved pieces were produced, about six inches long
• mask - the largest category after katabori, these were often imitations of full size noh masks, and share characteristics in common with both katabori and manju/kagamibuta
• manju - a thick, flat, round type of netsuke, with carving usually done in relief, sometimes made of two ivory halves
• ryusa - shaped like a manju, but carved like lace, so that light shines completely through
• kagamibuta - shaped like a manju, but with a metal disc serving as lid to a shallow bowl, usually of ivory. The metal is often highly decorated with a wide variety of metallurgical techniques.
• trick/animated - any netsuke that does something, ones with moving parts or hidden surprises

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3400x1700, 552 KB) Summary This 19th century katabori netsuke is a model of a smiling karako. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3400x1700, 552 KB) Summary This 19th century katabori netsuke is a model of a smiling karako. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4200x1497, 624 KB) Summary This 19th century anabori netsuke depicts a hamaguri (clam) palace. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4200x1497, 624 KB) Summary This 19th century anabori netsuke depicts a hamaguri (clam) palace. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2260, 376 KB) Summary This sashi netsuke is of the subtype called obihasami, or obi-clip, which hooks around both edges of the obi for added security. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2260, 376 KB) Summary This sashi netsuke is of the subtype called obihasami, or obi-clip, which hooks around both edges of the obi for added security. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2610x1400, 471 KB) Summary This shows a 19th century mask netsuke of an oni, with old collection labels on the back. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2610x1400, 471 KB) Summary This shows a 19th century mask netsuke of an oni, with old collection labels on the back. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3306x1635, 590 KB) Summary This 19th century manju netsuke depicts a famous episode in the life of Kintaro, the golden boy, a legendary eleventh-century hero, in which he killed a giant carp. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3306x1635, 590 KB) Summary This 19th century manju netsuke depicts a famous episode in the life of Kintaro, the golden boy, a legendary eleventh-century hero, in which he killed a giant carp. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3400x1700, 689 KB) Summary This 19th century ryusa netsuke depicts a crane flying over pine branches, with clouds on the reverse. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3400x1700, 689 KB) Summary This 19th century ryusa netsuke depicts a crane flying over pine branches, with clouds on the reverse. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2810x1397, 386 KB) Summary This 19th century kagamibuta netsuke depicts Emma Dai O, the King of Hell. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2810x1397, 386 KB) Summary This 19th century kagamibuta netsuke depicts Emma Dai O, the King of Hell. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 406 KB) Summary This netsuke of Daikokus hammer opens to reveal a carving of Urashima Taro. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 406 KB) Summary This netsuke of Daikokus hammer opens to reveal a carving of Urashima Taro. ... Noh performance at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, Hiroshima Noh or Nō (Japanese: 能) is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. ... In the art of sculpture, a relief is an artwork where a modelled form projects out of a flat background. ...

Materials Used

• ivory - this was the most common material used before ivory harvesting became illegal
• boxwood and other hardwoods - the second most popular material in Edo Japan, still used today
• metal - used for accents in many types of netsuke and for the lids of kagamibuta
• hippopotamus tooth - used in lieu of ivory today
• rhinoceros horn
• coral
• clay/porcelain
• lacquer
• woven cane

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the box tree. ... Beech is a typical temperate zone hardwood The term hardwood designates wood from angiosperm trees. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning horse and potamos meaning river), is a large, plant-eating African mammal, one of only two extant, and three or four recently extinct, species in the family Hippopotamidae. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) Elasmotherium (extinct) Height Comparison of Extant Rhinoceros Species. ... Subclasses Alcyonaria Zoantharia See text for orders. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... It has been suggested that Porcelain tile be merged into this article or section. ... In a general sense, lacquer is a clear or coloured coating, that dries by solvent evaporation only and that produces a hard, durable finish that can be polished to a very high gloss, and gives the illusion of depth. ...

Unusual materials used in netuske^[1]

Hornbill ivory: Of the many varieties of hornbill, only the helmeted hornbill (Buceros vigil or Rhinoplax vigil) furnishes an ivory-like substance. This is a dense, carvable substance found in the solid casque growing above the upper mandible (the bird’s forehead). Structurally, it is not ivory, horn, or bone, yet it has been called ivory for many centuries. It is softer than real ivory and is a creamy yellow in color, becoming red at the top and sides. Hornbill ivory (also called golden jade) is a precious ornamental material derived from the Helmeted Hornbill (Buceros vigil), a large bird of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo Many hornbill species have casques, decorative growths on the upper mandible of the bill. ... Genera Aceros Anorrhinus Anthracoceros Buceros Bucorvus Ceratogymna (=Bycanistes) Ocyceros Penelopides Tockus Hornbills (Family Bucerotidae) are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cows horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible. ... Binomial name Buceros vigil Forster, 1781 The Helmeted hornbill, Buceros (or Rhinoplax) vigil, is a very large bird in the hornbill family. ...

Coral: Subclasses Alcyonaria Zoantharia See text for orders. ...

Umimatsu: A species of black coral with dense texture, concentric growth rings, and amber [and redish] colored inclusions in the black material. According to Michael Birch “The literal translation of umimatsu is ‘sea pine,’ and it is also popularly described as ‘black coral.’ True coral, however, is a hard calcareous substance secreted by marine polyps for habitation. Umimatsu, on the other hand is a colony of keratinous antipatharian marine organisms."^[2] Microscopy of keratin filaments inside cells. ...

There is a black coral, popularly used for jewelry in Hawaii, which tends to be black with some white in it —no color, however. One finds more on black coral, than on umimatsu, and so one can assume there is some similarity. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

According to Bushell (13/ 2:6), “The literal translation . . . is seapine. . . . Whether literal or figurative the translation is a misnomer, as the material is, in actuality, a coral formed by skeletons of living organisms. . . . In color, umimatsu, black coral, is black or blackish brown, sometimes showing streaks of light brown or dirty yellow.” Bushell goes on: “As material, umimatsu is more acceptable to collectors than carvers. Leading carvers naturally avoided the material. It was prone to crack, crumble or chip. Carvers find that it is risky for carving details and subtle effects. Perfect pieces of black coral were difficult to obtain.”

Umoregi: There are several definitions, some contradictory: According to Bushell “Umoregi is a partially fossilized wood having the general appearance of ebony, but showing no grain.” Alain Ducros ( 9/ 3:40 ) “First let us deal with umoregi, often called fossilized wood. Umoregi is not properly a wood, but a jet, a variety of lignite that is often confused with ebony. It is a shiny material and takes an excellent polish but it has a tendency to split.” Petrified log at the Petrified Forest National Park A petrified tree from California Petrified wood is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. ... Coal Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by mining. ...

“Jet,” says Britannica, is “a substance which seems to be a peculiar kind of lignite or anthracite; often cut and polished for ornaments,” Anthracite coal Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. ...

On the internet: “Umoregi-zaiku is petrified wood formed when cedar and pine trees from the Tertiary Age (5 million years ago) were buried underground and then carbonized. The layers of earth where umoregi-zaiku can be found extend under the Aobayama and Yagiyama sections of Sendai, [Japan].” Then this article goes on to say of pieces made, that they are “generally dark brown with a beautiful wood grain and the soft luster of lacquer.” Species Cedrus deodara Cedrus libani    var. ... Species About 115 species Pines are coniferous trees of the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. ... Tertiary period was previously one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, from the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago to the start of the Quaternary period about 1. ... Sendai ) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku (northeast) region. ...

Drexler: "I thought once that there was no such thing as umoregi, until I found a netsuke that is little more than a chunk of umoregi. But how to distinguish it from ebony when carved is another problem."

Walrus tusk: The walrus has two large tusks (elongated canine teeth) projecting downward from the upper jaw. These tusks, often reaching two feet in length, have been extensively carved as ivory for centuries in many countries and especially in Japan. Walrus tusk carvings are usually easy to identify, because much of the interior of the tooth is filled with a mottled, almost translucent substance that is harder and more resistant to carving than the rest of the tooth. Manju, especially ryusa manju, invariably show this translucent material at opposite edges of the netsuke. Binomial name Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies Walruses (from Dutch: wal meaning shore, and r(e)us meaning giant) are large semi-aquatic mammals that live in the cold Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. ...

Whale's tooth: The sperm whale has teeth running the whole length of its enormous lower jaw. Those in the middle tend to be the largest often obtaining a length of more than six to eight inches. These larger ones are often used by carvers of scrimshaw. Drexler: "I have a smaller whales tooth that is just about the size that each of several of my netsuke might have been carved from." A Fin whale The term whale is ambiguous: it can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. ... Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 metres (60 ft) long. ... Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. ...

Whale bone: All bones are hollow, the cavity being filled with a spongy material. Cuts across some bone show a pattern of minute holes looking like dark dots. Lengthwise, such bone displays many narrow channels which appear to be dark lines of varying lengths. Polished, bone is more opaque and less shiny than ivory.

Teeth: A variety of teeth are used for netsuke: boar's, bear's, even tiger's. Binomial name Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 The Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) is the wild ancestor of the domesticated pig. ... Genera Ailuropoda Ailurus Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a large mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ... Binomial name Panthera tigris (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of tigers in 1900 (red) and 1990 (green) Synonyms Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 Tigris striatus Severtzov, 1858 Tigris regalis Gray, 1867 Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four big cats in the Panthera genus. ...

Tagua nut: Nut from the ivory palm, referred to as vegetable ivory. Part of the nut’s shell sometimes remains on netsuke carvings. Though often mistaken for or deceptively sold as elephant ivory, items made from the two-to-three-inch nut have none of the striations common to animal ivory, and sometimes the ivory-like nut flesh has a light yellow cast under a rough coconut-shell-like external covering. Nut is very hard when dry, but easily worked into artistic items when wet. The Tagua nut is an extremely hard nut that comes from the Ivory nut palm. ... Binomial name Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce The palm tree Phytelephas aequatorialis, which bears the common names tagua palm and ivory-nut palm, is a main source of vegetable ivory, or tagua, a botanical alternative to ivory. ...

Bamboo: “Bamboo (Iyo bamboo) is used for netsuke. Bamboo netsuke are either a piece of the stem or the root with carving on it.”^[3] According to Bernard Rosett (14/2 :40-44): “Carvings in the round are usually made from the underground stem of the plant, that small almost solid zone that connects to the creeping rhizome below the ground. Bamboo netsuke are not commonly encountered. Occasionally, one comes across a netsuke fashioned from bamboo root and can revel in the wonderful texture and patina of the material.” Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

Agate: A mineral, streaked with many colors, and which can be given a high polish. Agate is a term applied not to a distinct mineral species, but to an aggregate of various forms of silica, chiefly chalcedony. ...

Subject Categories

Like many other art forms, netsuke reflect the nature of the society that produced them. This is particularly true of Netsuke. The reasons why this is so include 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. As a result, netsuke displays every aspect of Japan culture including its rich folklore and religion, every craft, trade, and profession, all types of people and creatures, both real and imagined, and every kind of object.

• people - famous and anonymous, current, historical, real and fictitious, children, warriors, priests, etc.
• animals - zodiac animals and others, it is worth noting that tradition netsuke style depicts octopus figures as having a tube like siphon protruding from the "face" similar to a mouth.
• plants and plant products - small one, such as beans and chestnuts, are often carved life-size
• deities and mythical creatures - often from Chinese myth and religion
• non-living things - the smallest category. Common examples include roof tiles, coins, and tools
• abstract - mon patterns and other designs
• sexual - "shunga" netsuke may depict a male and female in sexual conjugation, or may contain only subtle or symbolic sexual references

Some netsuke represent single, simple, objects, and some depict entire scenes from history, mythology, or literature.

References

See also

• yatate
• inro

Categories: Stub ... Inro An inro (印籠) was a case for holding small objects. ...

External links

• http://www.netsuke.org. The International Netsuke Society publishes a journal for collectors and holds international meetings bi-annually. The Society's web site shows examples of different styles. Others can be found by searching the internet.