A Miniaturized Accessory

What we are looking at now is the netsuke, the toggle that keeps the inrō tied to the obi, the sash worn around the waist. Netsuke could be made of a variety of materials such as wood or bone, and could take up a variety of shapes and decorations. The netsuke connected to our inrō is round in shape, in a style called manju because of its resemblance with the round and sweet red bean cake, and it is decorated with a geometric pattern and a butterfly at its center.

But netsuke could also take three dimensional shapes, in a style called katabori: these can be considered miniature sculptures. They were often carved in the shapes of animal or human figures, and they would sometimes also depict foreigners. Netsuke in the shape of Dutch men are present (amongst others) in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and of the Victoria and Albert Museum. We can see them in the pictures and notice how they portray Dutch traders in a very similar manner to the woodblock prints of the Nagasaki area.Sources: VAM / MET