Images(2)

Inro decorated with tanuki and crab, and ojime

Datelate 19th century

Maker Shibata Zeshin Japanese, 1807 - 1891

Label TextInro are containers for small personal items such as seals and herbal medicines. Japanese men of the Edo period (1603–1868) wore them hanging on the obi (sash) of their kimono. The small bead called ojime tightens the inro’s cord. Netsuke, intricately carved toggles, were attached at the end of the cord to prevent the inro from slipping through the obi. By the eighteenth century, both inro and netsuke had become more elaborate and decorative and were commissioned by merchants, samurai, and others who could afford them.

Object number91.138

Photo CreditPhoto: Elizabeth Mann

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Rabbit, Cat and Horse; Endearing Creatures in Japanese Art, Dec. 21, 2002 - Mar. 16, 2003. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Going For Gold, Nov. 3, 2012 - Dec. 8, 2013. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Credit LineGift of the Robert B. and Honey Dootson Collection

Dimensions3 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1 1/16in.

MediumLacquer and gold