Japan's Netsuke & Inro

About this book

Small enough to close in a fist; rich enough to hold a whole world.

Japan's Netsuke & Inro is the complete guide to 200 miniature carvings, master carvers and the dress culture of Edo, in eight parts: the ensemble and its world — toggle, cord, bead and case worn at the sash; the forms, from manju and katabori to the long sashi; the subjects, from rats and radishes to gods and ghosts; the materials — boxwood, ivory, stag antler, lacquer and metal; the carvers and schools who signed, or refused to sign, their work; the inro itself, its tiers, cords and maki-e; a practical part on reading, buying and collecting; and a closing part on seeing, visiting and beginning.

Every entry stands on its own: what the piece is, how it was made and worn, what to look for, and where the story continues. Changeable facts (museum hours, exhibition dates, dealers' stock, prices and regulation fine print) are never asserted as settled — every entry closes with entry-specific wording pointing you to the official source to confirm.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.