JAPANESE CULTURE, EXPLAINED
根付
A netsuke secures a container or pouch suspended from an obi. Its cord holes and compact carving combine a fastening function with a small work viewed from several sides.
The fastening function identifies a netsuke more precisely than size alone. A cord connects it to the item suspended below the sash. The position of its cord holes, or himotoshi, affects how the assembly sits. The inrō is the container; the netsuke is the fastening component. They can be separate works combined in use. A sliding ojime bead on the cord opens or closes the container.
A compact form with few projecting parts is less likely to catch on clothing. On a sculptural netsuke, the back, underside and sides can all carry carving, with cord holes incorporated into the form. These surfaces have a practical role as well as offering additional views of the subject.
Katabori netsuke model figures, animals and other subjects in the round. Manjū forms resemble a rounded disc and can carry relief or lacquer decoration. A kagamibuta fits a metal lid into a rounded body. Mask, box and openwork forms provide further variations.
A process supplied by the Ise Netsuke Carving Museum begins with naturally dried boxwood, cut into a block and given a drawn design. Successive carving stages establish and refine the shape, followed by smoothing, colouring and dry polishing with cloth. This is a specific wood-carving process; a metal lid or lacquer surface involves other work.
Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum places the craft’s development around the Genroku period within townspeople’s culture. Later changes in dress and the trade in works for overseas collectors changed how netsuke circulated. Contemporary makers in Japan and elsewhere continue to work with their characteristic compact forms and cord holes while exploring new subjects.
No. It is the fastening component connected to the suspended container by a cord.
Its shape and cord holes contribute to how the object hangs and how it can be viewed.
No. Woods, metalwork and lacquered forms provide other material and structural examples.