Earlier this month I visited the Portland Japanese Garden, a true sanctuary in the city, no matter the season. The garden itself is always a pleasure to be in, but they also had a special exhibit of netsuke (pronounced nets-keh) titled Masterpieces in Miniature. I had to see it!
Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, netsuke are a portal to experience Japanese culture during the Edo period (1603-1868). Craftspeople in urban centers such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo (modern-day Tokyo) often produced netsuke as a side-product. Ivory carvers, wood carvers, or metal workers would create netsuke from small bits of leftover material. The five puppies seen below are wrestling. They are carefully lit and rotate on a small platform so you can see the whole game in action!
Netsuke were personal fashion accessories that also served a purpose: helping to hang accessories such as pipe cases, tobacco pouches or medicine cases from the sash of a man’s kimono. Netsuke placed several constraints on the maker: they had to be small, durable, a comfortable shape to handle and wear, smooth enough not to catch on anything, and typically required two holes for threading a cord through.
Masterpieces in Miniature draws from the Garden’s collection of more than 300 netsuke, exploring wide-ranging subjects from characters found in popular stories, scenes of people in everyday life and animals found in the natural world.
This charming rabbit brings back fond memories of an exhibit I saw at the Jewish Museum in New York City in March 2022 titled The Hare With Amber Eyes. The exhibit borrowed it’s title from a book of that title written by Edmund de Waal. A renowned ceramicist, de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit a collection of 264 netsuke. Captivated by their beauty and mystery, he determined to trace his family story through the collection. Almost the entire collection was on view at the museum. See an image of the hare in that exhibit here.
Masterpieces in Miniature will be on view through March 4, 2024. I know that I will be going to back to take it in again. If you are in the area, it will be worth your effort to see it.
Great examples of netsuke. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! I shared only a few of the ones in the exhibit.
My mother had a small collection of netsuke. They are fascinating! Thanks for sharing these with us.
Wow! Do you have images of her collection?
Thank you for this beautiful blog entry. I was not familiar with netsuke, and now I will watch for them and know what I am seeing. Your pictures are great!
My pleasure Maureen! These tiny objects are so exquisite. They are worth going out of your way to see them.
Thanks for the lovely tour. I was taken back to the day we visited the Garden.
Every season is rewarding at the Japanese Garden. We are so lucky to have it!