Netsuke of wood depicting a raccoon-dog (tanuki) on its way to be transfornmed into a tea kettle (old Japanese tale: Bunbuku Chagama). There are several versions, here is one: At a temple called Morin-ji in Kōzuke Province (now Gunma Prefecture), the head priest owns a chagama (tea kettle). When the priest places the kettle on a hearth, it is transformed into a half-tanuki (raccoon dog).
It returns to the form of an ordinary tea kettle and the temple sells it to a traveling salesman. The tea kettle reveals itself to the merchant as a raccoon dog, who acts on the advice of a friend to order the animal to perform tricks, or is persuaded by the tanuki itself, who performs tricks in exchange for being treated well.
The man sets up a circus-like attraction by the roadside and charges admission for people to watch the tea kettle walk on a tightrope to the sound of music. The man becomes rich and returns the tea kettle to Morin-ji Temple.
The kimono having no pockets, accessories have to be carried somehow. Women could put small objects in their sleeves and sash, whereas men, mainly, would hang their various boxes, pipes and brush cases on a cord at their belt. The portable objects are called sagemono. Accessories became identity-forming status objects and an important part of men´s fashion, a world in miniature with a wealth of subjects. Various kinds of artistically crafted sagemono are known from the 17th century. In addition to boxes for tobacco, cases for personal seals (inro) are one of the best-known types. Literally translated, an inro is a basket (ro) containing a seal (in). Only sealed signatures were legally valid, and so samurai and merchants, for example, needing seal stamps had to carry them in small cases. This was the origin of “seal baskets” (inro), which soon came to be used primarily for carrying medicine. These accessories varied in appearance according to the wearer’s taste and wealth, as well as fashion trends. When Western dress became popular during the Meiji period (1868-1912), there was less need for these portable objects, and they were divided up into their constituent parts (with toggles kept apart) and sold to westerners.
(Based on the text for the exhibition catalogue Japan. Artefacts and images tell the story. 2011).
The function of the netsuke item is to be a counterweight to the "hanging things" (sagemono) worn with the kimono by the men. Common hanging items were various boxes, for example medicine boxes (inro) and tobacco pouches. Netsuke roughly means "fixed root" and early netsuke (before the late 17th century) were probably natural, unprocessed roots and the like. From the 18th century they were made more representative and often in wood or ivory. Eventually, the artists began to sign their netsuke.
(Based on the text for the exhibition Japan. Artefacts and images tell the story. 2011).
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