Netsuke
Tiny and exquisite. (The Bus 5.22)
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ARCHIVE EDITION - FIRST PUBLISHED (1.14) 23 May 2022
The Stop
Netsuke (pronounced “nets-keh”) are intricately carved miniature sculptures originating in 17th Century Japan.1 For 200 years, they were essentially unknown outside of Japan due to the government’s maritime policies preventing international trade. However, when these restrictions eased in the 1850s, Japanese decorative art began to be exported. Netsuke - due to their remarkable craftsmanship and size - captured the eyes and imagination of Westerners, and today are considered a highly specialised art form prized by collectors around the world.
At this period in Japanese history, men and women wore the traditional kimono with a sash tied around the waist. Though the woman’s garment had places in the sleeve to hold small objects, the kimono had no pockets. Men would carry personal accessories - money pouches, smoking materials, sets of writing equipment or even small compartmented boxes holding herbal medicines - by hanging them from the sash. These items would be attached via a woven silk cord to the netsuke which the wearer slipped under and dangled over the top of the sash. In this way, the netsuke functioned as a toggle, preventing the items from falling to the ground.
Worn by members of every social class, what began as simple practical objects evolved - in both materials and artistic quality - into statements of a man’s wealth or status. Netsuke continue to be carved today and - like the older ones - depict a number of subjects: humans, legends, ghosts, animals, botanical subjects and masks. As in the past, various materials are used to make netsuke, including ivory, boxwood and other hardwoods, metal, tusks, horns, nuts, clay, porcelain and woven cane - though ivory and other endangered materials are no longer allowed.
Netsuke are in numerous museum collections worldwide and two I have been fortunate to see are in the British Museum2 and the Victoria and Albert Museum.3 Both have outstanding displays worth a visit, but if you’re not in London anytime soon there are collections at many museums around the world. A quick search will provide many options.4
The Detour
Today’s Detour is to an article from New/Lines Magazine. This interesting read explores how attitudes towards Northern cultures evolved from seeing them as an inaccessible ‘dark spot beyond the border of the Greco-Roman universe,’ to ones idealised and romanticised for their moral and physical superiority in the 19th Century.
The Realm of the Devil and the Destroyers of Rome
The Recommendation
Sticking with the netsuke theme, today’s Recommendation is Edmund de Waal’s masterful The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance (2010). A renowned artist, ceramicist and academic, de Waal5 inherited 264 netsuke from an uncle who had relocated from London to Tokyo. Researching the figures, he uncovers a remarkable story.
From the back of the book: ‘From a burgeoning empire in Odessa to fin de siècle Paris, from occupied Vienna to post-war Tokyo, Edmund de Waal traces the netsuke’s journey through generations of his remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century.’
Suggested during a book club meeting many years ago, I found this a gripping read - and if you get the illustrated version, so much the better. Highly recommended.
Review: The Guardian: The Hare with Amber Eyes
The Sounds
There’s no theme today, just some great songs:6 ‘‘74-’75’ (The Connells, 1993), ‘SpottieOttieDopaliscious’ (Outkast, 1998), ‘Comfort Eagle’ (CAKE, 2001), ‘One Rainy Wish’ (Jimi Hendrix, 1967) and ‘I Don’t Know’ (Beastie Boys, 1998). Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is a remarkably relatable quote from the American author James Baldwin (1924-1987):7
‘Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed a brief diversion from your regular journey!
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Until the next stop …
The information for today’s Stop comes from Noriko Tsuchiya’s Netsuke: 100 Miniature Masterpieces from Japan (London: The British Museum Press, 2014) and the International Netsuke Society (netsuke.org). This website is certainly worth checking out if you have any interest in netsuke.
You can see pieces of the British Museum’s netsuke collection here: British Museum: Netsuke
The V&A has a good page about netsuke, including some great images here: Victoria and Albert Museum: Netsuke
The Met in New York is home to a great collection which you can visit here: The Met: Netsuke
Check out his website here: Edmund de Waal. Another great book by de Waal is The White Road: A Journey into Obsession (2015) in which he traces the history of porcelain. I know it doesn’t sound that exciting (our porcelain is in teacup form), but it’s an amazing world-spanning history very well told.
The Connells’s best-known song was a big hit in Europe (number one in Sweden and Norway), but for some reason never charted in the US - which is shocking considering what does chart. As with any band of serious quality, it’s difficult to choose an OutKast track as there are so many great ones, but this tune (from their third album Aquemini) has always been one of my favourites. The CAKE track is fun, the Hendrix is, well, Hendrix, and the Beastie Boys is downbeat - but only if you’ve never really listened to them. Enjoy - and though I know it’s not Yacht Rock, let me know what you think!
For a brief biography, see: James Baldwin