| Description |
This is a Japanese netsuke of a traveler. The netsuke, literally meaning root (ne) and attached or hung (tsuke) is a clothing fastener which is situated on the upper end of the kimono sash (obi). It was designed to hold hanging portable containers or sagemono as traditional Japanese garb lacked pockets. The ensemble which typically hangs on the obi includes an inro (medicine case and holder of small personal collections), the netsuke, and the ojime (pierced, bead shaped slide fastener that was placed between the inro and the netsuke). Recreational items, such as tobacco containers, were also common hanging items.
Before the netsuke, a wheel-shaped object called a obiguruma would allow for inros and money purses (kinchaku) to be attached to the obi. Later, a center peg was added to hide the obi's knot, a style which was named manju netsuke after the shape of the New Year rice cake. In general, netsuke measure to be 1” - 2.5” and typically take the form of a miniature three-dimensional carved figure or a flattened and engraved button or box. In the latter half of the seventeenth century, more complicated, figural netsukes became fashionable. It was originally a utilitarian item, but gradually became an ornamental piece worn by all classes of people. It was during the rise in demand of netsuke in the 19th century that the three-dimensional figure form became commonplace for artists. Further specialization of the craft led artists and art schools to use specific carving techniques as well as special materials and subject matter. There also seemed to be a growing prominence of the arts during the Edo period as it was possible for artisans like lacquerers and netsuke carvers to receive the traditionally monastic ranks of hoin (seal of the law), hogen (eye of the law), and hokkyo (bridge of the law).
Osaka was the center of commerce of the Edo period due to its remoteness from the Tokugawa shogunate. As artistic expression had stagnated in Japan due to government controls over art forms, the merchant class of this city was eager for the dramatic joruji and kabuki theater styles. These performances also spread to Edo (now Tokyo) after it was rebuilt following a fire in 1657, particularly in the entertainment and brothel district (Yoshiwara). The proliferation of the theater arts popularized performer dress like kimonos and, as a result, contributed to the development of the netsuke.
After the establishment of the Meiji government (1868) and the abolition of the samurai class (1876), artisans lost their traditional patrons and sought out new work for their skill sets. This was also the time when art and industry exhibitions were popularized, and the commercial success of Japanese art convinced the government to establish enterprises that commissioned professional artists. One of the prestigious occupations that was established by this trend was the Teishitsu Gigei'in (Imperial Court Artist) who, in name, worked under the patronage of the imperial family. It was through these efforts that Japanese art gained world popularity. |
| Bibliography |
Guth, Christine. Art of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City, 1615-1868. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996.
Irvine, Gregory, Axel Rüger, Hiroko Yokomizo, Tayfun Belgin, John House, and Kris Schiermeier. Japonisme and the Rise of the Modern Art Movement: The Arts of the Meiji Period: The Khalili Collection. London: Thames & Hudson, 2013.
Jahss, Melvin, and Betty Jahss. Inro and other miniature forms of Japanese Lacquer Art. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 1971.
Okada, Barbra Teri. A Sprinkling of Gold: The Lacquer Box Collection of Elaine Ehrenkranz. Newark: The Newark Museum, 1983.
Okada, Barbra Teri., and Mary Gardner Neill. Real and Imaginary Beings: The Netsuke Collection of Joseph and Edith Kurstin. Yale University Art Gallery, 1980.
Vos, F., Jan Dees, Frits Scholten, Oliver Impey, Malcolm Fairley, E.A. Wrangham, and Roger Keyes. Meiji, Japanese art in transition: ceramics, cloisonné, lacquer, prints, illustrated books, drawings and paintings from the Meiji period (1868-1912). Edited by Robert Schaap. ’s-Gravenhage: Haags Gemeentemuseum, 1987. |
