The “Netsuke” page opens up a section of stories within the project Hermitage under a Magnifying Glass. It deals with Japanese art and, as suggested by the title, specifically with netsuke. We asked two experts from two different countries, Russia and Great Britain, to select five pieces each from the museum collection. Anna Savelyeva, Curator of Japanese art at the State Hermitage Museum, and Max Rutherston, a British expert who has dedicated a large part of his life to studying Japanese art, particularly netsuke, will tell you about these pieces.

Anna Savelieva
Curator for the collection of Japanese art, Eastern Department of the State Hermitage

Sotoba Komachi

The subject of this netsuke is better understood with familiarity of Japanese literature. It depicts an old woman with her mouth agape, lips almost to her ears. The back half of her head is bald while in the front locks of hair come down to her elbows. Her eyes can be seen under a sunken brow which expresses a grimace of suffering. She is half-naked with her back exposed and protruding ribs and spine. Her thin arms are wrapped around a wooden plank. This plank is in fact a gravestone known in Sanskrit as stūpa and in Japanese as sotoba. It is a wooden board with a rounded end at the top bearing a letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, which is barely visible on this piece. These boards were placed on grave sites.
The subject of the netsuke is a 9th-century poet who was very well-known at the time and later became legendary for her poetic talents. The Japanese have her listed as one of the six greatest poets in Japan of all time. However, she was famous not only for her poetic talent: she was a stunning beauty and a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court.
While hardly any reliable information about her biography has survived, legend tells many stories of how her beauty ruined or subdued many men. One particular story is very didactic.
There was a young man who was in love with the poet and tried to have the feelings returned. The young beauty, however, gave him one condition: he was to come to her house every night for 100 days and remain beside her house no matter the weather. If he passed the test, she would be his. The man was so in love with her that every night he came to her house and stayed until morning, in rain and snow, and only on the 100th night was he unable to come. According to one legend he died on the way to her, while another legend explains that his father had died and the man's filial duties won over love. The poet was condemned for her behavior and regretted what she had done. She left the court and went into the mountains never to be seen again. Only rarely would stories be heard in the capital of how she had been seen as a beggarly woman in tattered clothes.
The subject of this netsuke references a play of the noh theater which tells the story of how many years after the poet was alive, two monks were walking along a road and came to a cemetery where they saw an old woman sitting on a gravestone. They went up to her and told her how disrespectful it was to sit on a grave, to which the old woman answered that it was more important for the living than the dead and continued into a religious debate with them. The monks were surprised by how wise, smart, and educated the old woman seemed to be, and they asked her who she was. She then revealed her true form to them turning into the young beauty with long black hair and beautiful clothing. She told them her story and that she was actually the poet Ono no Komachi.
The monks were overcome with respect for her and realized that this was the true meaning of retribution, of the Buddhist idea of karma where any bad deed committed in life will inevitably come to an end and with it bring karmic retribution. The old woman who could not find peace but instead had to wander around cities or sit at a grave hugging the headstone was serving out her punishment for being so cold-hearted and inattentive to the feelings which were shown to her.
Such stories from Japanese literature and mythology are important to know in order to understand even something as small as netsuke. Sometimes familiarity with particular texts, plays, or legends of the past is required to fully appreciate the real wealth and depth of the subjects depicted in these pieces. Allusion to Japanese poetry or poets of the Heian period (9th century) is not commonly found in netsuke carvings. The first netsuke came about in the 9th century as an art form borrowed from China, and by the 18th century there were a large number of subject matters which were interpreted versions of Chinese subjects. Over time, strictly Japanese motifs were added to these, though classical Japanese literature did not contribute any rich subject matters which could capture the attention of carvers of the Tokugawa period (17-19th century) enough for them to be depicted. This piece is a rare, almost exclusive, case where the poet is the subject of the piece.
A close look reveals how the carver showed her thin arms hugging the board. Her leg can be seen, foot bent, holding onto the wooden board used as a headstone. The poet seems in appearance like a ghost or demon. She resembles the mountain witch Yama-uba. This particular appearance is likely due to the fact that the woman shown is not the living beauty or even the living old woman who wanders the cities; instead, it is the character of the noh theater who appeared before the monks several centuries after the poet&rsquo;s death.
During the Edo period, stories of ghosts and other demonic beings became popular. These stories were known as kaidan and were first told to one another orally and later in the 17th century they began to be printed as a collection of stories gaining wide popularity. There was a tradition to gather during the hottest nights of July and light lanterns and tell ghost stories to each other. At the end of each story, one of the lanterns would be put out and the stories would continue until the last lantern was out. The cold sweat which would appear on the listeners who believed in the truth of the stories was meant to cool them down in the heat. It is possible that the both moral and scary story of the poet became popular due to the love and ubiquity of kaidan at the time.
At the back of the netsuke the signature of the carver Anraku is clearly seen. Anraku lived and worked in Osaka during the first half of the19th century. Looking at his other work, one can see that he carved predominantly out of ivory and used a light stain. This netsuke is also from ivory, which the brown tone clearly gives away. However, in this case, the piece has been completely stained. The reason behind the carver&rsquo;s decision is hard to say since this approach to completely stain the ivory in a cherrywood color is very unusual for netsuke.
Details with an even darker stain can be seen on the hem of the material wrapped around Ono no Komachi. Decorative foliage called karakusa, a Chinese grass, can also be seen. This grass was typically applied to expensive brocade fabrics and in the case of this netsuke appears to be the carver&rsquo;s way of hinting at the former status of the old woman as a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court. Many of Anraku&rsquo;s pieces have been preserved and show off his manner of carving and staining. They can be described as being masterfully detailed with his inclination to carve intricate netsuke. The fact that he stained the whole surface of this netsuke is surprising since by doing so he has practically leveled out his carving. The darker a piece is stained, the harder it is to make out the details.
However, this does not take away from its charm. If anything, it adds to it &mdash; the unevenness of color occurring from use over time has highlighted the protruding areas and have given the piece a charm from being used and held over the years. Someone once loved it, once rubbed it on their nose and left a mark. There is excitement in knowing these pieces were once used and in imagining them hanging from a shopkeeper&rsquo;s belt or in the hands of someone who had just had a smoke and his rubbing his beloved possession on his nose. This kind of a piece gives one a lot to think about.

Dog, Puppies, and an Old Hat

This is a charming netsuke. A closer look at it reveals three very plump, smooth puppies with curled tails, ears pressed against their happy faces. They are climbing up a straw hat and playing with each other, tugging at the hat. They are having fun as kids are supposed to. However, if we turn the netsuke around, we can see that the story continues underneath the hat where the mother is lying, paws curled up. The dog is clearly tired from her offspring horsing around and is trying to hide. Her kids are playing above, trying to reach down to her. This compositional approach to the netsuke makes one consider how intimate this art is meant to be. It is meant to be observed not from a glass case, not from afar, but in one&rsquo;s hands where it can be turned around and studied from all sides. In this way the netsuke takes on a completely different perspective and tells a very different story.
We should remember how netsuke were used. This was a practical item worn on the person on the belt. It would attach either a medicine box or a tobacco pouch or a money purse to the outfit. When the wearer would come to a shop, for example, he would sit at the edge of the veranda and converse with the shopkeeper or owner. There may have been tea offered, a pipe smoked, and during the conversation he could remove this item from his belt and turn it in his hands for a moment or two being able to hold his favorite thing. Feeling the trace of generations and the warmth of the hands that held it before him was something invaluable.
To understand the reason behind the dogs as the subject, we should remember that netsuke often carry symbolic meaning. They could act as amulets with protective powers. Dogs were always seen as protectors of children. Puppies grow quickly and thereby signified the wish for children to grow fast. If a child would be crying at night, his mother would come to him and say &ldquo;inu no ko, inu no ko&rdquo;, or &ldquo;puppy, puppy&rdquo; and the crying child would calm down. The character inu (dog) could often be found at the head of a child&rsquo;s bed. This was also meant to ward off any evil spirits (thereby acting as an amulet). Such an image was meant to ensure a painless birth for pregnant women. It was a common belief that a dog in labor did not feel any pain. There was also the wider meaning of the dog as being one of the 12 calendar animals. Likewise, anyone born in the year of the dog could wear this image as a personal portable amulet.
Dogs are very affectionate creatures to humans and it was thought that demons were afraid of taking human form in their presence and, likewise, if a traveler would come across a fox, badger, tanuki, or cat who had taken the form of a girl or young man, then it could be counted on that the dog would scare the demon, who would then show its true form. So we can see that this sweet story with the chubby tots has significant protective meaning.
This netsuke was carved by the master Kokei who is quite well-known to us for his work. He was quite a prolific artist and many of his netsuke have been preserved. We can say that around 80% of his work is made up of figures of resting tigers or goats followed by puppies. This piece is not signed by him, but all the details of the figure point to it being the work of this carver. Kokei had a unique carving style. At first glance his pieces appear sloppy but when you begin to look at them carefully it becomes clear that each cut of his tool was thought out exactly. This is well seen in his work depicting goats, wolves, and monsters. As a rule, the puppies were carved very smoothly with detailed work. This smoothness combines well with the hat, contrasting even a bit thus highlighting the quality of the smoothness. The hat is decorated with a thin weaving. Here it would seem he stepped away from his manner of carving. The carelessly thought-out cuts are not used here. However, this is also just as characteristic of his work.
Himatoshi, or cords holes, were needed to attach the netsuke to the belt. As a rule, Kokei did not use any specially made holes. He composed his work in such a way that the cord could be fixed behind one of the details. In this case, we can guess that the cord would have been attached behind the dog&rsquo;s paw. When the item was placed on the belt, the dog was hidden from view. For those looking at it, they would only see a hat with puppies, so the paw which was hidden from sight served as an anchor for the cord.

Dutchman with Rooster

The subject of this netsuke is clearly not Japanese but a foreigner. It can even be said with full certainty that it is a Dutchman. He has a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, plump cheeks, and long straight hair down to his waist. He is wearing a short kaftan under which can be seen pantaloons, stockings, and wooden clogs. Another small detail is the small wooden heels seen on the bottom of the feet. Why exactly a Dutchman is represented can be explained by Japanese history. The fact is that the first Europeans to come to Japan were the Portuguese in the 16th century, followed later by the English. However, the negative impact of their politics was seen in their attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. They brought with them firearms. They sided with certain local princes against others, and they began preaching christianity, which at the time was considered a threat to the central power. Accordingly, 100 years later the Jesuits along with all other foreigners were asked to leave. They were boarded onto ships; some were executed, and they were gotten rid of.
The only exception were the Dutch. As it were, they had never tried to have influence on the internal affairs of the country. For this reason the Japanese set aside the Nagasaki port for them where they were allowed to bring their ships once a year. Likewise, a small artificial island was established for them with high fences and a factory, or trading post, where goods were loaded and records were kept, and where a small Dutch community resided. Business, for the most part trade, with the Japanese government was conducted here. The foreigners were not allowed to leave the very compact territory and were never seen in town. Any necessary goods were delivered to them to this small island by Japanese merchants. However, rumors of the strange people living behind the high walls naturally reached the townspeople of Nagasaki and elsewhere. The information about these people continued to spread and elicited a natural curiosity. In order to satisfy this curiosity, local artists of Nagasaki began to draw pictures and later made prints with depictions of the Dutchmen. These works were in high demand as they gave insight to the clothing they wore, the facial differences between the Europeans and Japanese, etc. The appearance of the fair red hair uncommon among eastern nations such as Japan was frightening, appearing demonic, and the images of foreigners were apparently classed somewhere between water kappas and mermaids, and other evil spirits.
Netsuke carvers did not ignore this subject matter and at the end of the 18th century the popularity of such netsuke took off. More often than not the netsuke of foreigners are made from ivory rather than wood. This piece, however, is in fact made from wood with a light tinting in the recesses.
Foreigners were often depicted in netsuke holding an object or an animal, the variety of which could be counted on one hand. Often this was a boar, a gun, a rooster like in our case, sometimes a child or a flageolet, sometimes a dog by the feet. These were essentially the only subject matters used in netsuke.
The reason for the rooster could be connected to the fact that the meat-eating Dutchmen appeared quite unusual to the people of the Buddhist country, where it was uncommon to consume meat. This is one possible interpretation of this subject matter: to show the rooster as something edible. The second possible interpretation of this involves the East-Indian Dutch Company, which was founded in Malaysia and which adopted the tradition of cock fighting and apparently brought this tradition with them to Japan and continued it on the site of their factory. The large rooster which our man is holding is likely a fighting rooster. He has large, long, strong feet; his neck is stretched up, and his tail is practically gone. It may have been pulled out.
The netsuke depicting Dutchmen are typically large, around 9-11 cm. This places it as a very early piece from around the second half of the 18th century, maybe the late 18th century. Another feature pointing to this time period is the cord holes or himotoshi. The inlet hole can be seen between the pantaloons with the outlet hole on the back of our figure. The lower hole is quite wide, which was characteristic for items carved in the 18th century.
As a rule, all of the netsuke of foreigners are unsigned. The carver&rsquo;s signature cannot be found on this piece or on the other figures of Dutchmen in our collection. We cannot say who the carver was. This subject matter was most popular among the carvers of Osaka and Kyoto. Perhaps our netsuke was also produced there.

Demon in Front of a Mirror

This netsuke depicts the Japanese demon, or sometimes also called devil, Oni. In ancient times, all frightening and vague forces were invisible. The first written record in Japanese history from 712 gives mention to demonic forces; however, no description of them is provided. They were invisible and formless. No appearance is given to them until the arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century when the oni demons (messengers of Emma-o the overlord of hell) first began to be described. They were large in size with thundering voices. Their skin was either blue, yellow, black, or red. They had horns coming from their heads, sometimes only one. Their faces were humanlike but with the possible appearance of a third eye. Their mouths were always shown wide-open all the way to the ears. Bestial fangs protruded from their open mouths. The long claws at the end of their fingers and toes sometimes resembled spikes. Their only clothing was a woven loincloth, more commonly made from tiger pelt. This is the type of demon shown in our netsuke
We can see his horns, his curly hair, muscular body and brutish face. His feet are pressed together, and his right hand is reaching for one of his horns. In his left hand he is holding a mirror and is looking at himself. In Buddhist tradition, anyone is capable of reaching enlightenment. Even the most evil forces are capable of this. The oni here is touching his horn before the monastic tonsure, when Buddhist monks would shave their heads. Here the devil is clearly parting with his horns which will be shaved off during the dedication ceremony.
Every frightening thing which made one tremble and fear walking on mountain trails, in dark forests, or late at night, began to be looked at quite ironically during the Tokugawa period. Many subject matters were desacralized. The Lucky Gods became jolly beings who would find themselves in ridiculous situations. Terrifying devils were depicted in a way that they no longer evoked fear, especially if they were reciting prayers to Buddha, washing themselves before the dedication, or preparing for the cutting of their horns.
This netsuke was most likely carved in the mid, possibly the second half of the 19th century by the carver Homin, whose life we know close to nothing about. However, the general tendencies characteristic of the time can clearly be traced in his work: the smaller size of the figures compared to the 18th century, the more meticulous design with finer detailing. Homin worked with both wood and ivory and with this example we can see how delicately he controlled the material and the precision of the stain. This attention to detail, attention to subtlety, is what characterizes the netsuke carving of the mid-late 19th century.

Wind God Fujin

This netsuke depicts the wind god Fūjin, who is sometimes also called Futen. Along with the thunder god Raijin, he is likely one of the oldest gods of Japan. They embody poems which frightened people in Japan as well as in the rest of the world. In the old texts dedicated to Japanese myths we can already find descriptions of these gods. Fūjin would normally appear surrounded by thunderclouds, often carrying a large sack over his shoulders. In this sack, he would collect different breezes, storms, cyclones, and he would release these winds, sending them down to earth.
In this netsuke he is appearing out from a rising cumulus cloud in swirling wafts, leaning on these swirls with his elbows. He resembles a demon with his teeth bared and small horns. From paintings and descriptions in texts, we know he has red hair and green skin, which can only be imagined when looking at the netsuke. He is scary and is meant to frighten people, having command over the elements. The carver was able to stunningly convey the terrifying expression of the thunder god.
The carver of this piece, Unjudo Shumemaru is notable for the fact that his name appears in a book published in 1781 in Osaka by Inaba Ts&ucirc;yr&ucirc;. This is the first text to mention netsuke carvers. The text was written by a merchant who sold decorations for swords, tsuba, assembly elements for the hilt of the sword, as well as various sagemono, i.e., suspended items which included glasses cases, smoking kits, and, accordingly, netsuke, which acted as a counterweight for all these items. Six of the seven volumes of the book are dedicated to describing the tsuba, or hand guards, and only the last volume is dedicated to the carvers of Kyoto and Osaka.
Being able to learn even something about the people who were engaged in netsuke carving at the time is a rare opportunity. Inaba draws attention to Shumemaru by placing him second among the 54 carvers mentioned in his book. As number one he names Yoshimura Shuzan, another carver who worked and lived in Osaka and who is, according to modern tradition, considered to be the founder of the Osaka school. The second was Shumemaru, who, according to Inaba, lived and worked in Osaka. His real last name is not known since, following art tradition, it was customary to take on a creative pseudonym, something which was commonly seen among artists, calligraphers, and netsuke carvers. Shumemaru is his pseudonym and his real name is unknown. Inaba mentions him being a Shinto priest.
This is an important piece of information which characterizes the era in that, by the end of the 18th century there were almost no professional carvers left. Many of the netsuke carvers did this as a side activity, and often it was simply a hobby. According to Inaba&rsquo;s book, netsuke carving attracted mask carvers, even dental technicians, and in this case a Shinto priest. He did not work on the market and only made netsuke at the request of people he knew. Inaba himself noted that few pieces of this master remained, precisely because he did it for himself and not for a living. Because of this, each piece in the collection is valuable for its uniqueness. We also learn from the text that he worked using the kijibori technique, i.e., a simple technique of plain wood carving without decorations or stains. This netsuke is also made from wood without any traces of staining. However, the last sentence of Inaba&rsquo;s description seems to contradict his previous statement. Sometimes staining can be found in the folds of the clothes. Here, however, there is no staining to be found, only the kijibori technique.
The netsuke is rather big at over 9 cm. This size is characteristic of items at the end of the 18th century. When comparing pieces from the end of the 18th century and those of the 19th century, the difference in size is always easily noticed. Another feature of the earlier items is the cord hole on the back of the figure, called himotoshi. Himo meaning cord and toshi from the verb tosu - to thread. These holes are connected by a small channel and were used to pull a cord through and hide the knot in the bigger of the two holes. The hole where the knot would enter was always slightly bigger than the second, but for the earlier pieces this hole was characteristically bigger than was done in the 19th century. We can see this feature in this piece.
There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of this piece and the museum is proud to have such a rare piece in its collection. If we turn to the carving technique used, the period when this piece was carved is known for a certain &ldquo;brutality&rdquo;. The items carved during this period give impressions of strength and power rather than grace and ease. The towering clouds lifting up the god were made with one confident cut by the carver, which is evidence of the carver&rsquo;s great mastery of the technique. The composition was planned in advance and he had no trouble bringing his drawing to life. This manner of carving supports the early origin of netsuke. It is always necessary to analyze features like this when attributing netsuke.
We often acquire our netsuke after seeing them in other collections, and we try to understand how true the attribution is, how expertly it was examined, how convincingly it was dated and its authenticity was confirmed. Using these terms, the netsuke can be dated and attributed.

Anna Savelieva’s Choice

Maximilian Rutherston

Coiled Carp

This netsuke is of an ivory carp. The carp is a rather popular subject of Japanese art in general. This is an example of perfect netsuke in the sense that, instead of being shown in its full length, it is beautifully curved around with its tail joining back up with the body. This gives it a compact form, which is highly considered to be the ideal for a good netsuke. The reason for this is that the wearer does not wish to have anything sticking out which might be broken off while being worn.
This netsuke is carved from elephant ivory and has beautiful large inlays of dark buffalo horn for the eyes, something which is quite a typical feature of netsuke from this period (late 18th century probably before 1800). The scales of the fish are carved in considerable detail, and each scale is incised with little markings. All the incisions are then heightened in black ink, which again is quite typical of ivory netsuke of this period. The tail is pierced with two holes for the himotoshi, or cord attachments, and it is widely thought in the case of this netsuke that these holes were added later. Quite often, 18th century netsuke have what are called &ldquo;natural himotoshi&rdquo;, in other words, the object itself has some sort of hole in it which allows for the attachment of a cord, since the netsuke is attached to a hanging object, the sagemono: an inro containing medicines, a pouch of some sort for tobacco or other bits and pieces, or a money pouch. In this case, it is quite likely that the cord was simply attached around the body of the carp itself. This would have functioned very much like an early netsuke. There were early netsuke in the form of rings, so-called kuruma netsuke, and this netsuke would have likely functioned in exactly the same way.
There has been speculation that this carp might be by one of the greatest carvers of all, Masanao of Kyoto, who was active in the period that this netsuke was certainly carved. He is one of the artists mentioned in the Sōken Kishō, the notable publication of 1781 and the only real record of netsuke carvers over a period of around two hundred years in Japan, falling right in the middle of the netsuke carving period between 1700 and 1900. Having looked at the known models by Masanao, some signed, some not signed, it seems that they have a different sort of mouth. It is a very elongated mouth or face with a large open mouth. The other feature which seems to differ greatly from this netsuke is the way in which the dorsal fin on the back and the tail are carved. In the case of Masanao, he gives a lovely thinness to both the fin and the tail. The ivory is carved very thin. He also gives a beautiful undulation, a sort of frilliness to the whole length of the fin and to the tail, which actually is quite fan-shaped. In this netsuke from the Hermitage Museum, the fin is slightly thicker than Masanao&rsquo;s. It is undulating but lacks the nice thin frilliness along the top ridge, and certainly when we come to the tail, instead of this furling fan shape, we have a rather salamander-like tail, much like the end of an oar. It is quite rounded and has no real movement to it. It is just a sort of flat piece of tail. For those reasons, it seems to not be the work of Masanao. It is still by a very good carver.
The other suggestion is that it could be somebody from the Yoshinawa Yoshitomu school of carvers, who were also working in Kyoto at exactly the same time as Masanao in the late 18th century. One of the reasons for thinking this is that there are well-known models by Yoshitomu of The Legend of Kinko, a Chinese literatus who went underwater on the back of a large carp. They are great carvings, and again they have such features as the very big inlay for the eyes, and artists of the Yoshinawa Yoshitomu school have a tendency to have incised decoration. An example of this is in their figure carvings where you find repeat patterns along the edges of garments, kimono or robes, and there seems to be a similarity in the way that the gills of this fish are carved. Therefore, there is good reason for making that attribution.

Jugyoku Snail

This netsuke is a nature study by the artist Cho Unsai Jugyoku. Jugyoku lived, or at the very least worked, during the Meiji period, which was between 1868 and 1912. The netsuke itself is made out of two materials. It depicts a snail on a small gourd which is scarcely larger than the snail itself. The gourd is made from bone, which is lightly stained green. It contrasts beautifully with the snail, which is carved from a pale buffalo horn, beautifully translucent, showing light through.
Jugyoku enjoyed, firstly, this very precise observation of nature, but he also enjoyed the contrast of the materials. This feature is very typical of him as an artist. He used many materials in his carvings and enjoyed adding contrast and visual interest by introducing to those materials inlays of further materials. This is typical of both him as an artist and of the Meiji period. By that time, the Japanese were moving towards discarding the kimono, their traditional form of dress, and adopting western clothes. This meant that netsuke were already in danger of passing out of fashion and started to become of interest to people abroad. For this reason, this netsuke was probably conceived more as a miniature work of art than as a practical object for daily use.

Ronin Lying on Mat

This netsuke is a rather splendid carving of a figure lying, hugging the ground. He is a little mysterious, and at first glance he appears to be a farmer with his straw raincoat and large conical straw hat, both of which are worn by farmers in Japan. However, if we look a little bit closer, we realize that lying beside him is a katana, a Japanese sword. So what we have is actually not a farmer but a so-called rōnin, a masterless samurai.
There is a similar netsuke to this in the British Museum in London, which is unsigned but traditionally attributed to Ogasawara Issai, an artist who was working at the end of the 18th century. He is a little bit mysterious with little being known about him. Many of the works attributed to him are not signed, but it is a fair attribution to make, and no alternative suggestion is given.
The story of the rōnin is an interesting one. It is based on a true incident, and it was subsequently dramatized into the so-called Treasury of the Loyal Retainers, known in Japanese as the Chūshingura.
The event itself took place at the beginning of the 18th century: &ldquo;In 1701 Asano Naganori, the lord of Akō, was provoked by the arrogant treatment he received from the protocol official Kira Yoshinaka and drew his sword in an attempt to kill Kira within the precincts of Edo castle,&ldquo; &mdash; an act that clearly went against protocol &mdash; &ldquo;for this Osana was sentenced to commit suicide, while Kira escaped without punishment. Osana&rsquo;s domain was confiscated and the retainers who had served him were dismissed and became masterless samurai or rōnin.&rdquo; So, this netsuke depicts one of these rōnin: &ldquo;For nearly two years they bided their time while plotting revenge. Finally, on the 14th day of the 12th month in 1702, the band of 47 rōnin broke into Kira&rsquo;s mansion at night and killed him. Although they were regarded as heroes by many for their unswerving loyalty, they were all nevertheless ordered by the authorities to commit suicide on the same day in 1703. The story became extremely popular as a theme for plays and paintings.&rdquo;
This story of Japanese honor, which is very complicated, is depicted in this netsuke of a rōnin lying in wait, ready for the attack.

Tametaka Goat

This netsuke is of a recumbent wood goat by the highly respected artist Kita Tametaka. Tametaka belongs to a group of around 50 carvers who are mentioned in an important work, the first written record of netsuke artists, the so-called Sōken Kishō, which was published in Osaka in 1781 by Inaba Ts&ucirc;yr&ucirc;. The part of the Sōken Kishō itself dedicated to netsuke is really little more than a list of these artists with some very sketchy information about them. It is the only record of netsuke carvers between the start of netsuke carving around 1600 and publications in the early 20th century. For this reason, it is quite an important record, and although not all the artists that are mentioned in it are remembered to this day, some of those we consider most highly are recorded in the publication. Tametaka is one of them. He worked exclusively in wood, largely animals, including all 12 animals of the Chinese and Japanese zodiac. He also carved some figural pieces, most of them more legendary figures like Sh&ocirc;ki the demon queller, and other such subjects, but predominantly animals. He had an output which probably meant that he was turning out roughly one netsuke a month, probably around 12 netsuke in a year.
We know of between 500-600 netsuke by him. There were likely many that did not survive to this day.
This current netsuke from the Hermitage Museum is a familiar model. The carver liked to return to his subjects, but what is admired about him as an artist is that he usually added some difference whenever he repeated a subject. So, for example, there is another model of a goat where the goat is seated with its front legs straight in front of it looking over one shoulder, and in another model that goat is in the same position but looking over the other shoulder.
He made similar differences with Pekingese dogs. There is a model which he particularly likes of a Pekingese on a cushion, and in that particular case, although there are at least five or six variants of the subject, each is different. He has varied the tilt of the head, the position of the tail, the direction in which the dog is looking. There are all sorts of small differences. His animals tend not to be entirely realistic. He gives them a character all of his own, and he is particularly attracted to shaggy animals, animals with thick coats like this goat here. So, goats are a favorite subject of his. Equally, he carved many netsuke of different types of dogs, but he particularly favored dogs with shaggy coats.
One other point worth making about him is that, traditionally, he is thought to have lived from about 1730 to 1790, but he is also credited with being the father of Nagoya carving. Nagoya is particularly noted for its wood carvers, and most of the school was active in the mid 19th century. So, when he is mentioned in the Sōken Kishō in 1781, I think it is fair to assume that he was probably about 30 years old then, already old enough to have made a reputation for himself, and if he was born around 1750, he could easily have lived to 1830 or so.

Tokoku Jurojin

This is a small, very precise netsuke carving of Jurōjin, one of the Seven Lucky Gods imported to Japan from China. The carver Suzuki Tokoku was born in 1846 and lived until around 1931. This means that he was active at the very end of the netsuke carving tradition. He started his career in the 1870s in Tokyo, where he was largely influenced by an important carver, Ozaki Kokusai. Kokusai himself was the leader of a group of carvers who had a particular liking for stag antler. They carved with great wit and with quite a lot of literary allusions in their work. Tokoku himself began to carve under that influence, and his first pieces were likely less figural and more what are called manjū. Manjū is a Japanese rice cake, and manjū netsuke take the form of an oval or circular bun. They would have been carved in a variety of materials, something which is very typical of the Meiji period between 1868 and 1912 and later. Jugyoku and Tokoku would have certainly carved various things such as the famous arms bowl in wood, which contains little objects in other materials like jade, lacquer, metal, etc. Tokoku was a very able artist and was skilled at working in more than one material, which he very much enjoyed doing.
In the case of this lucky god, Jurōjin, he carved a very large gourd behind him, which can be seen in the 3D version. As it revolves, the gourd itself appears almost as large as the god himself and would have contained quite a lot of sake. It is held by a long red tasseled cord, which is in fact lacquer, one of the inlaid elements that he liked. The lacquered cord is wrapped round the middle of the gourd, which has a tiny ivory stopper. The figural subject matter that Tokoku liked was largely of these lucky gods and the Buddhist patriarch Daruma. He likely carved netsuke that were never going to be used since by the time he was working, and certainly by the middle of his career, most Japanese had given up the kimono altogether.

Experts’ choice. Netsuke with Anna Savelieva and Max Rutherston