The kimono, the
traditional form of Japanese dress, had no pockets.
Men suspended pouches (inro) on a silk cord from their sash
(obi). To stop the cord from slipping through the "obi", a
small toggle is attached. That small toggle is the
"netsuke". So netsuke did not originate as art, but as a
purely functional personal accessory.
The
Edo prosperity brought rapidly increasing wealth to
merchants, long considered inferior to all other social
classes in Japan. The shogunate prohibited the outward
display of wealth by merchants.
Since the enforcers seldom paid much attention to netsuke,
this inconspicuous device gradually became the object of
increasingly elaborate decorations. Eventually professional
artisans took up the art of Netsuke carving from wood,
ivory and other materials.
Nowadays there are still artists and craftsmen making
netsuke. They share the love for working with nice
materials on a small scale. They make their own tools and
spend hours and hours cutting and sanding to achieve as
much detail as possible.
