{"id":835,"date":"2012-01-19T00:56:13","date_gmt":"2012-01-19T00:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=835"},"modified":"2015-07-27T19:06:22","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T02:06:22","slug":"what-is-a-netsuke","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=835","title":{"rendered":"What is a Netsuke?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a netsuke?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A netsuke is a unique form of small sculpture which developed as an art form in Japan over a period of more than three hundred years. Originally, netsuke served both functional and aesthetic purposes.<\/p>\n

The kimono, the traditional Japanese form of dress, had no pockets. Women would tuck small personal items into their sleeves, but men suspended their tobacco pouches, pipes, purses or writing implements on a cord from their sash (obi). These hanging objects are called sagemono. To stop the cord from slipping through the obi, a small toggle was attached. This toggle is called a netsuke (the most popular pronunciation is net-ski, while the actual Japanese is closer to net-skeh). A sliding bead (ojime) was strung on the cord between the netsuke and the sagemono to tighten or loosen the opening of the sagemono. The entire ensemble was then worn at the waist and functioned as a sort of removable hip pocket or wallet. All three objects were often beautifully decorated with elaborate carving, lacquer work, or inlays of rare and exotic materials including ivory, wood, precious metals, shell, coral, and semiprecious stones. A whole new group of talented artists emerged during this period of time to create these unique objects.<\/p>\n

\"Inro\"
\nThe netsuke-ojime-sagemono system was used for over three hundred years, until after Commodore Perry opened Japan to trade with the West. By the late 19th century, the Japanese had switched over\u00a0to Western dress and pockets replaced the netsuke-ojime-sagemono system. However, by this time, the art forms had reached a pinnacle, and captured the attention of western collectors. They were fascinated by the incredible beauty of these delicate art forms in miniature and the intimate quality of these sculptures for the hand. Great collections were formed, and international respect developed for these art forms and the artists who created them. This is a phenomenon which continues to flourish today. A limited number of talented netsuke-shi (carvers) are dedicated to keeping this unique art form alive. In fact, the creation of fine netsuke is no longer confined to Japan. There are almost 100 talented artists worldwide who are carving netsuke. They have been inspired by tremendous demand by patrons, museum exhibitions, and a wealth of books and articles on the subject. Modern communication has made it possible for artists to exchange knowledge of materials, techniques and to develop a multi-national culture interpreted in this highly personal and intimate art form.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a netsuke? A netsuke is a unique form of small sculpture which developed as an art form in Japan over a period of more than three hundred years. Originally, netsuke served both functional and aesthetic purposes. The kimono, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":291,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6qLAy-dt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1014,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=1014","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":0},"title":"About Us","date":"January 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0\u00a0Mary Alice Sterling A self taught artist, Mary Alice came to the art world after a career as a registered nurse in the US Air Force. She creates her baskets, weaving complex textures with both visual and tactile appeal. Her work is most often executed in natural materials, sometimes richly\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 8 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4536,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=4536","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":1},"title":"Netsuke Resources","date":"May 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Netsuke Resources -\u00a0Contemporary netsuke created by internationally known sculptor Tom Sterling from semi-precious hardwoods, horn, amber and fossil ivories. I've removed this free download because I'm currently revamping and updating my netsuke carving book and in the future will be offering it via Kindle and Apple Books in eBook formats,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Cover-250x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":291,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=291","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":2},"title":"Resources","date":"January 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"About Us Available for Purchase Talk to Us\/FAQ Our Art Jewelry Steel Bladed Knives Stone Bladed Knives Links Engraving Resources What do I need to start engraving? Tutorial: \u00a0Simple Engraving For Knifemakers Tutorial: Making Small Scrapers for Contemporary Engravers Bladesmithsforum.com Interview with Tom Netsuke Resources How to Carve Netsuke and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":619,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=619","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":3},"title":"Contemporary Netsuke by Tom Sterling","date":"January 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Contemporary netsuke created by internationally known sculptor Tom Sterling from semi-precious hardwoods, horn, amber and fossil ivories. Please note: We are no longer carving netsuke. These are no longer available for purchase and are presented solely for your viewing pleasure.","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/netsuke_31.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":327,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=327","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":4},"title":"Carving the Spawning Sockeyes Netsuke Tutorial","date":"January 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Carving the Spawning Sockeyes Netsuke Here's how I often design a netsuke from start to finish. After deciding what subject and a general conformation of what I'm going to work on, I gather reference material. I've found the World Wide Web (Internet) is a wonderful resource, especially the image search\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Sockeyes_Progression_10i.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1673,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?page_id=1673","url_meta":{"origin":835,"position":5},"title":"Art Baskets","date":"June 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Unique collaborations painstakingly carved and woven from natural materials. Porcelain, fossil ivories, lovely hardwoods, antler, reed, cane and fine Irish linen grace these tiny and elegant creations which often embrace Native American mythology. These diminutive works are also loosely rooted in antique netsuke, an ancient Japanese artform of extraordinary elegance,\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Basket_46.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/835"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=835"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3983,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/835\/revisions\/3983"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}