Netsuke and Sagemono

As the kimono, the traditional Japanese garment, has no pockets, in the 17th century a fashion developed for ‘sagemono’ (‘hanging things’), whose purpose was to hold small personal effects such as medicines, tobacco and pipe, money, name stamp, and ink for the stamp. A cord connected the sagemono with a netsuke made of carved burl or ordinary wood, elephant, whale or walrus ivory, or horn. When the sagemono was hung on the belt, the netsuke served as a counterbalance and kept it in place. The carving of netsuke developed into an art form in its own right. Accordingly, many netsuke bear an artist’s signature. These mini-artworks often represent popular good-luck symbols or an emblem of the zodiac, but erotic motifs are not unknown. The imagination that went into them is appealing, as is their subtle humour, not to mention their superb craftsmanship.