LITMIR.BIZ

      CHAPTER 1

       Background

      NETSUKE AND SCULPTURAL ART

      With the introduction of Buddhism into Japan in A.D. 552 A whole new world of sculptural art was born. Buddhist images and image carvers came to Japan from China, and the deities of Buddhism provided a wealth of new subject matter for the Japanese artist. Some of the world's finest examples of Buddhist art, the wooden statues of the Nara period (710-94), were produced by Japanese sculptors early in the eighth century. While Chinese canons of art unquestionably had an influence on Japan's sculpture during the Nara period, the true Japanese tradition was never submerged. Subsequent periods were marked by various sculptural innovations, including architectural decorations, masks worn in Noh dramas, sword ornaments and furnishings, the netsuke, and the ojime. When netsuke first came into use is not definitely known, although the earliest artistically executed netsuke still in existence date from the end of the sixteenth century.

      EARLY PERIOD (c. 1574-1780)

      The word netsuke, loosely translated, means “root attachment." The absence of pockets in the kimono made netsuke a necessary, functional part of Japanese attire. Their basic origin can 'be traced to the Muromachi period (1336—1568), when they were presumably worn as toggles attached to a cord tucked under the belt or sash (obi) from which were suspended keys, a water gourd, or various objects known as koshisage (things hanging from the waist), or sagemono (hanging things). The netsuke of this period were natural forms—a wisteria root, a shell, a small gourd, a bone, a stone, or an uncarved piece of wood (Fig. 2).

      The decorated netsuke undoubtedly came into use late in the sixteenth or early in the seventeenth century, when it was the fashion for samurai and the aristocratic classes to carry inro (see Frontispiece). The inro was a small flat box, usually containing several compartments, and was used to carry medicine or seals. The compartments were neatly fitted, one on top of the other, and were held together by a cord that passed through a bead fastener called an ojime. The netsuke was attached to the end of the cord as a toggle to hold the cord under the obi. Money pouches (kinchaku) also hung from the obi, held fast with netsuke toggles. These early netsuke were simple in design and generally fashioned in wood, although some in bone, ivory, metal, and lacquer are also attributed to this period.

      2. Natural-form netsuke.

      By the latter part of the seventeenth century the tobacco pouch, held in place at the waist by cord and netsuke, came into use (Fig. 3). During the eighteenth century the practice of pipe smoking became very widespread, with the result that there was an increase in the demand for netsuke. The netsuke became a status symbol, its style and value corresponding to the position and wealth of the wearer.

      This booming netsuke market gave occupation to many carvers and lured distinguished artists from other arts and crafts. One of the imperial edicts against the Christians (c. 1605) required that a Buddhist image be placed in every home. This led many artists to turn their talents to sculptural art. When the demand for religious images was satisfied, many sculptors then turned their creative skills to netsuke carving. Netsuke of finest quality, in increasing numbers, were coming from the workshops of top-ranking carvers. At the same time, less skillfully wrought netsuke were being produced for those of limited means.

      3. Tobacco pouch, pipe (in case), cord, and netsuke.

      Prior to this time there were no professional netsuke carvers to pass the art down from generation to generation, as was traditional in the world of Buddhist-image sculptors. Netsuke carving was largely a side industry of various craftsmen, such as maskmakers and dollmakers, metalworkers, lacquerers, image sculptors, and makers of musical instruments. Netsuke carving was also a pastime of dentists, artists, samurai, and men of learning. By the latter part of the eighteenth century, the demand for netsuke became so great that many of the most talented craftsmen turned to netsuke carving as a vocation. Thus began the seventy-year period often referred to as the Golden Age of netsuke art.

      THE GOLDEN AGE (c. 1780-1850)

      This period reached its zenith during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. The netsuke carvers—both professionals and hobbyists—increased in number. Netsuke in great quantity, some of the finest in quality and most varied in material and design, were produced. The majority of carvers lived in and near large cities—Tokyo (Edo), Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagoya—and because of the great demand, wholesale stores specializing in netsuke were established in these cities. The work of the first-rank carvers could be increasingly recognized by individual style and subject matter, as well as by regional characteristics.

      DECLINE (c. 1850-75)

      Several factors contributed to the decline of netsuke art during the period immediately preceding and following the Meiji Restoration. With the arrival of Commodore Perry on Japanese shores in 1853 and the reopening of foreign trade, which had been virtually prohibited for over two centuries, Western-style clothing with pockets began to take the place of the kimono, and cigarettes replaced pipes. Ironically, tobacco, which two centuries previously had contributed greatly to the growth of netsuke art through general use of the tobacco pouch, now played a major role in its decline with the introduction of cigarettes.

      The restoration of imperial rule brought emphasis on commerce and industry and a diminishing of art appreciation. In 1871 an edict abolished the wearing of swords, the very heart of the samurai tradition. Thus the wearing of inro and netsuke by samurai and the upper classes became a custom of the past, and netsuke moved from a traditional place in formal Japanese apparel to the status of collectors' items.

      THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLECTING ERA (c. 1875)

      Following the arrival of the Americans, foreign trade treaties were signed. Meanwhile, civil war broke out between the emperor's progressive party and the shogun. After a bitter struggle, the Tokugawa shogunate fell, and power was restored to the emperor. The year 1868 marked the beginning of the Meiji era, which lasted for forty-four years.

      Ruling aristocrats were dispossessed, deprived of income, and forced to sell their art treasures. Their netsuke, now in disuse, together with those belonging to the samurai and other classes, were sold for incredibly small amounts. From that time on, the story of netsuke becomes the story of netsuke collecting among foreigners. Japanese netsuke wholesalers who had set up shops in the large cities during the heyday of netsuke carving became suppliers for exporters. Netsuke quickly became greatly desirable collectors' items, and both

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