The Netsuke Can Make a Fantastic Collectable

The Living Bonsai & More is as the name implies. I personally have had an interest in most all things oriental nearly all of my life and so from time to time I will endeavor to post an article on a subject other than bonsai.

I became interested in Netsuke as a fine collectable a few years ago and began a personal collection of these little fine art carvings. But what are netsukes you may ask?

Well the Japanese term for a netsuke literally means root for fastening and the netsuke was a way for the Japanese men to carry small objects with them inside there kimonos.

Since the kimono had no pockets and was only held together by a sash called obi around the waist then it would be impossible to carry any small objects around with you during the course of your day.

Thus the netsuke was derived some where possibly around the 16th century and was used as a device to act as a sort of a weight to hang down from the sash and thus keep the pouch from slipping away from the sash and kimono.

There would be a small pouch attached with strings and inside the person could then carry small items along.

They might have had there tobacco and pipe or some writing tools or a small purse and even medicines inside the pouches and these were then carried with the help of the netsuke.

The netsuke traditionally had a small hole through the material and then most often a silk cord attached and the cord was then drawn up under the obi or sash and the netsuke then would hang over the front of the sash keeping the pouch in tact.

The art of netsuke was a fine craft and the carvings were very elaborate and a lot of the time a person’s wealth or status could even be told by the look of the netsuke that adorned the kimono.

As time passed and the Japanese began to look to the western world for dress and the netsuke faded into a lost feature of clothing that was no longer needed so to speak. However the netsuke has always been highly prized as a collectable.

It’s so easy to get hooked on collecting these beautiful marvels of artistic carving once any person holds one of these little master pieces of carved art in there hands the first time there usually hooked and begin collecting.

The western world began to get there hands on these small carvings some time after 1853 when Commodore Perry’s black ships first dropped anchor in Uraga showing the American flag.

There was a trade agreement signed by America and Japan giving America a trade monopoly for many years to come and American sailors mostly from New England who were whalers began to bring back many of these carvings to the western world and by the 1870s collecting had begun.

Even yet today these carvings are still very much sought after and some of the best collections are not in Japan but actually right here in the United States.

Netsukes were carved out of many different types of materials most notably ivory, bone, wood, and sometimes metals even gems. You can find many different types represented for collecting if you’re in the mood to start a collection.

There are of course rules now in place for import and especially for ivory and so it would be in your best interest to read about these if you were into collecting these types of materials.

You would also need very deep pockets if you’re in the mood to collect any ivory carving of a netsuke that is original and truly early Japan. However there are many other materials that can be easily obtained and the carvings are just as beautiful.

Some research on your part would be advised if you want to peruse this fine art collectable. One resource that I would recommend to start with would be the International Netsuke Society http://www.netsuke.org from there you can find other resources and items of interest.

You can simply do a search for netsuke articles in goggle and come up with a lot of sites of great interest.

Here is a url to a fine article about netsuke and colleting that I think anyone interested in this art form as a hobby should read.

http://www.robynbuntin.com/Articles/netsuke_article_files/netsuke_article.htm

There are of course many fine books on the subject as well and anyone interested can certainly begin to get educated on what to look for and how to collect.

Thanks, for reading and looking. Harold Yearout

©Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved
For more information feel free to Contact me: