Netsuke: miniature masterpieces from Japan

Marvellous tales

Japanese culture is rich in stories, from folk tales which explore the natural world to legends based on historical events.

Customers in Japan would enjoy choosing which tales to have carved on their netsuke. It is harder for people who haven’t grown up in Japan to identify the stories and to understand their original meanings.

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A Japanese ivory netsuke of a man fighting a very large fish carved on a doughnut-shaped disk.

Oniwakamaru killing the giant carp

A Japanese ivory netsuke of a two-roofed gate-tower rising out of clouds emerging from a closed clam shell.

The Clam’s Dream

A Japanese ivory okimono ornament of a fisherman wrestling an octopus and pulling its nose.

Octopus wrestle

A Japanese boxwood netsuke of a pinecone which opens vertically to reveal a small man and woman standing inside.

Jō and Uba

A Japanese ivory okimono ornament of a lady fallen on her back in alarm at the half-badger half-kettle before her.

The Lucky Tea Kettle

A Japanese ivory netsuke of a boy lays on his front on the back of a large clamshell, from which a crab emerges.

Boy riding a shell

A Japanese ivory okimono ornament of a fisherman hauling a giant whelk with rope.

Dragging a large shell